Such a Beautiful Thing to Waste
by MsArtemis
Summary: I'm a vampire-unbreakable, formidable, and damn frightening. So why am I falling in love...with the worst possible person for me? Damon/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Welcome to Mystic Falls**

I heard the stream before I saw it.

Not big feat, for a vampire, mind you, but when I reached the muddy banks and actually beheld the translucent ripples, I shot so far back into the past I became frozen among the pine trees that surrounded me.

I went to a time when injustice always seemed to be on hand. When segregation ran deep, and young, hot blood ran deeper…

Smokey images of a boy welled up in my mind-emerald eyes glinting in moonlight, silvery blonde hair cropped too short, the echo of: "Everything's fine, Val…" over my scream. I shook my head, hard-the action made me look insane; and hell, maybe I was. Because I was positive I had heard movement from behind me, in the ebony shadows that this evening's sunset bore. For a millisecond I concentrated-I heard no heartbeat. Whoever it was, they were not human. And as long as I'd been a vampire, my senses had never been wrong.

Giving no indication that I knew I was being watched I knelt in the mud-(nature doesn't bother me) and scooped up some river water into cupped palms. If my predator wanted me to put a face to the eyes that were burning holes into my back, they would have made themselves known. Restraining the urge to turn around and confront the stalker I peered at my reflection intently, as if I had never seen myself before.

I'd been told I was beautiful by a stranger before; in fact, it had happened at least a hundred or so times in the past 50 years, but who was counting? I doubted them- for who were they to determine beauty? And, as far as today's standard goes, I was far cry from the tan bimbos that America stood by in this century.

The eyes that lay inside my palms were a dewy green surrounded by dark lashes. My nose was somewhat large but could be considered small by many. My lips were a pale pink monstrosity that could harm my appearance as well as help it. My skin, all over, was a flawless white the color of lily petals or snow-not pink or tan in any area. Finally, my hair-I smiled at the look of it, my pearly whites flashing across the water's surface-was a fiery red. Curls that color of blood lay limply upon my exposed shoulders, the warm evening breeze causing them to lean over and tickle my prominent collarbone. The breeze continued to the west, sliding over my dark skinny jeans and ivory lace top, which was barely holding onto my thin frame as it was. As if sensing my clothing dilemma the hunter behind me moved-the only warning was a thin sliver of air being cut in half as they closed in on me. Thank God, I was me-because that was warning enough.

In a millisecond I had leapt to my feet, hands out so that the water flew at my attacker-I had somehow hoped this would disable them. It was my unpredictable luck that the water hit them and then their hands hit _me_. I went off my feet at the shove, flying over the stream and to the opposite side, where a pine tree ended my journey. _Ah-so he was another vampire_; no one human could have had that much strength.

The jarring sensation of my spine meeting bark was wasted on my supernatural body-I had never been hurt as a vampire, not once. But that's only because I had been careful-avoided hunters, cops and other vampires-it seemed my luck had worn off-oh, well. I still had my charm.

My attacker had followed me across-currently his hands pinned my shoulders to the tree, discouraging any escape plans. As it was, the danger of the situation hadn't sunk in yet, and I laughed aloud-it was quite a rarity to be surprise attacked, and I found it invigorating. My attacker didn't appear to join me in my laughter, his fingers curling tighter around my shoulder blades.

"I wouldn't be laughing if I were you." He growled.

I really was not scared, but peering down into his serious face had some doubts churning up. Just a few you see, for I had luck and charm. And I wasn't good at taking orders anyway-always been a rebel. My giggles subsided softly into gentle chuckles: I grinned in his face, chuckling out: "You don't scare me."

Truth be told, my captor wasn't lacking in the looks department. His tanned face gave way to high cheekbones and a regal, slim nose. His lips were inviting despite the snarl they bore (Who pissed in his cereal?) and his eyes were an intense shade of summer sky. His slim, black eyebrows arched under his mussed raven black hair and his slim, toned body wafted heat onto mine. Despite his Adonis bod, his anger was palpable-and it twisted all his features in such a way that I wanted to punch him.

Because I'd only seen another man that hell-bent; _Levi_. _Emerald eyes, silvery blonde hair, "Everything's fine, Val…"_

I wanted to punch this stranger in the face. Damn him for making me think of Levi.

My smile fell.

Eyes widening slightly with insane anger, the man's grip on my shoulder increased, his fingers clawing into my flesh: "You should be." He hissed.

"Sorry to disappoint."

His expression didn't falter: "Who are you?"

My eyes narrowed-no way in hell. I hadn't come back to Mystic Falls to chat it up-I was coming than going. And I'd do it with style, fuck him. My pause allowed him crawling space to hope-I leaned in closer, as much as I could with being pinned, and whispered: "None of your damn business."

This generally made him insanely furious-his eyes glittered maniacally and he gave a wry smile. "Let's not make this difficult, shall we?"

"Wouldn't dream of it." I replied-before my knee met his stomach. Given, he was strong-but I packed a good hit, so he at least loosened his hold, which gave me time to wiggle out. Victorious, I ran around him, coming to a stop behind his back. I wanted to talk this out, believe me-I didn't like fighting, but I sure wasn't running away like a coward-but he flipped around, his legs coming out so that I lost my footing and fell flat on my back. This all happened in less than a second-gotta love vampires.

My chest heaved at the unexpected move, threatening the sanctity of my lacy top. He stood over me in his leather jacket and black jeans, his eyes roving over my body twice before meeting my gaze cheekily. Well, he was certainly no gentleman.

"Are you gonna have sex with me or kill me? Cause I have things to do."

His eyes lit up with some crazy emotion-God, was this guy stable? "I'll kill you right now, if you want."

I raised my eyebrows at this, but he continued. "We don't need any more vampires here. "

My heart leapt in my throat-there were more vampires here than him? I was on my feet in a flash-he didn't stop me but opted instead to place himself before me, making sure I knew I wasn't allowed to escape. "If you're leaving-" he spoke, his tone low and threatening, "then good. If you're not, I'll dispose of you right now." I studied him with scathing eyes-he peered into my face with a straight, defiant mouth, ready to kill me-and then I met his gaze. His eyes were a deep sapphire that reminded me of a midnight sky, something mysterious that few held the key to appreciate. Not only that, but lying within the midnight blue orbs, instead of fury, was hurt. Deep, deep, hurt-this wasn't because of me…this was something else. I'm sure my mouth dropped open in shock-for the agony in his eyes caused something inside me to break, to snap right in half. For as a vampire I'd felt nothing but empty-this little breaking away was more than I'd felt in years. My face softened unconsciously.

"No you won't." My assurance shone out and into his eyes-he peered back doubtfully, his nose scrunched as if he couldn't believe what'd I'd just said. The pain in his eyes was fading a fraction, I could see, and to make it vanish altogether (not my style…what the hell was wrong with me?) I threw him a bone.

"My name is Valerie. I grew up here-" I paused, my gaze flashing to the mud beneath my heels before my attention flew back to him-"a long time ago."

"Long time ago, hm?" The light bulb that went off behind his irises threw away all the pain from before and I froze, astounded. Something was happening.

What had I just done? I stood, still as a statue, as that thing that had snapped grew-and then exploded. I gasped aloud, air whistling sharply inward as my stare became glassy. That piece that had broken-it had unlocked the warmth in me-I did not feel cold any longer. In a matter of seconds I was assaulted with emotion-fear, hate, violence, _anger_-the force of my fury was so strong I was almost overtaken. And I knew why. I knew whom it was for.

I wasn't prepared when my attacker flew around me, hitting me in the back of the head so hard I blacked out. I collapsed limply, all my senses dulled as the floodgates inside me continued to open.

As my vision was reduced to shadow, I heard one thing:

"My name's Damon. Lovely meeting you, Val."

**~How was that? Review please, if you read! Reviews make my day3 Valerie is played by _Susan Coffey_. Google her if you must, she's very pretty. Hope you liked it.-MsArtemis~**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Kidnapped (sort of)**

"…do this? For God's sake Damon, she's not human! Bringing her here was a huge mistake. What if she doesn't agree to our rules?"

"Oh, I know she won't. I tried to trap her but she was feisty. Just like I like 'em."

A heavy sigh perpetrated the room. "You can't do this, Damon. We can't keep her here. Do you even know her?"

"No! But that's just part of the fun-not that you would know anything about it, Stephan."

A groan. "Don't make this into an argument. Did she tell you anything?"

"Of course she did. I wouldn't bring a guest into our home without a proper introduction."

"And?"

As usual, my hearing kicked in before my sight did. I chose the better option, however, and decided to listen in for a bit.

"Her name's Valerie. She said she'd lived in Mystic Falls awhile ago."

Indignation at my attacker, Damon, welled up in me-how dare he reveal these things to a stranger? No one should even know me while I was here. 'Stephan', the seemingly more responsible of the two, spoke up again.

"And you think she could have known Katherine?" Katherine? I didn't know anyone by that name… but she was well-known; they pronounced her name as if she was the president or something.

"Obviously, I wouldn't have brought…" I suppose Damon, that ass, kept on talking but I was temporarily distracted, for someone was nearing the room in which I was currently situated. The delicious scent that slammed into me jarred my empty stomach, causing my muscles to clench-the human heart was as soft as a hummingbird, increasing its impossible tempo as it crossed the entryway and came into the room. I heard the chatter stop, heard both men turn as the human entered.

"What's going on?" The human voice was that of a girl-she kept nearing where I lay unconscious as she spoke. My mouth was watering so bad I knew that without a doubt that I could leap up and tear her throat open without thinking. The thought set a bit of chill to the blistering heat of my emotions and I felt a small tidbit of relief-I wasn't all gone. There was still a chance of being ice, completely simple, again.

"Elena-" the 'Stephan' man began.

She trampled over his words, voice borderline hysteria. "Who is this, Stephan? Is she dead?"

Unable to keep this up much longer (I get bored easily) I let my eyes snap open, sitting up in one quick blurred movement.

I heard the undeniable sound of action and I let my eyes take over the scene in case I needed to protect myself. I was lying on a burgundy leather couch in a living room full of mahogany and oriental carpet. Opposite me, on a couch similar to the one on which my legs reclined, was a handsome stranger-his hair was a short, massaged tawny and his eyes were a deep green. He wore a white tank that exposed his muscular, tattooed arms and black jeans that displayed strong legs. His chiseled face was unreadable; his jaw deft with apparent stress-he gave me the impression of a frustrated lion. To my left lay an marble fireplace with a live fire-Damon leaned against the mantle, clothed in a tight black sweater and jeans that somehow vexed me; he gave off appearance of a panther in the firelight. Turning away from where he had been studying the human, he eyed me lazily, his irises sapphire in the shadows of the room. He grinned crookedly when he met my gaze: "Looks like Sleeping Beauty's pissed." I wanted to warn him, I did-I didn't have these things under control yet, and my anger roared like some hungry beast at his comment. I barely managed to stay still-I reduced to briefly shooting flames at him with my eyes.

Whipping my head around in order to get rid of him, I saw the human girl, her mouth halfway open as she stared at me with fear and curiosity. She wore a crimson T-shirt and dark skinny jeans, her breathing filling the room with white noise. My gaze slipped to her neck-at its base was an iron heart necklace, right where I had imagined ripping out her throat. Swallowing down my hunger I lifted my eyes until they met hers-for a moment, I was taken aback. Her eyes were a dark chocolate brown, her skin almost just as tan. Her hair was the same color or her eyes, straightened so that it boasted its sleekness from the crown of her head to the top of her bosom, where it ended. Her body was very slim with curves in just the right places-I wasn't a fan of stick bodies usually but she managed to pull it off with an almost willowy grace. Unbidden I answered her question, stunned by her absolute beauty.

"I'm not dead. Not now, hopefully never, though he-" I indicated Damon without looking at him, "gets points for knocking me out. Asshole."

"See Stephan, I told you-feisty." Damon's gloat caused me to seethe temporarily and I shut my eyes in exasperation. My anger was rolling waves inside me, each lapping caress a push for me to act on my fury. I would not-could not do anything rash, so I wouldn't open my eyes until I was under control. After two prolonged seconds, Stephan spoke up: "Are you alright?"

"Yeah-" I muttered, staying frozen. _Don't open your eyes, don't you dare open your eyes or you will do something terrible._"I'm just not used to this…" The words didn't seem, to me, anything but a small handful of pathetic ramblings-to them is was something different, worse. I could practically hear the tension thickening, smashing all of us together like some awkward sandwich.

"Wait-" Damon called from the fireplace-I heard him take a step in my direction and I refused to recoil, my eyes snapping open and catching Stephan's gaze desperately-he caught the expression on my face and gallantly interrupted Damon, leaning forward as his interest grew: "What's too much?"

_Too late to turn back now._ "The…feelings." I explained reluctantly, my eyes tracing rug patterns on the floor between the two couches. Growing irrationally panicked, I allowed myself to look up once more, needing to see their reactions-was this strange to them as well? Stephan's eyebrows rose and Damon didn't make a move from behind me. Elena, the human girl, took this as her chance to step in. "Valerie?" My head followed her inquiry, my green orbs greeting her dark ones. "Are you a new vampire?"

The question sent me reeling for a mere second before a sideways grin alighted my face. "No, dear. Though I wish you were one-" I made my point clearer by raking my eyes up and down her frame: "You'd be ravishing." I admonished, resisting the urge to lick my lips like a villain.

No, I was not bisexual. Technically. I just enjoyed eyeing, flirting, and occasionally making out with people of my sex. Just messing around-nothing serious; I enjoyed men much more than I ever did women. My ears picked up the stiffening of Damon's muscles, as if he'd just been electrocuted. My assessment left Elena frightened-her eyes practically turned to saucers as she wordlessly threw a glance to Stephan. Stephan gritted his teeth, moving his lips numbly: "Elena, you should go home." Elena nodded silently, shaken up as if I'd just tossed her into a hurricane. "Yeah, I need to go pick up Jeremy anyway…call you later?"

"I'll call you." Stephan glanced up at her, his eyes and voice velvety.

Brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, she picked up a tan leather jacket that lay behind Stephan before smiling at him radiantly. "Goodnight Stephan. Love you."

"Love you." He replied, his voice low, before leaning up to meet her lips in a chaste kiss. _Ohh. They're . _I'd slipped up-flirting with kidnapper's girlfriends probably wouldn't ring me up any brownie points. Damon and I didn't get a goodbye, Elena merely running her gaze over us as if we were invisible before exiting. The whole room stayed silent as a tomb until the slam of the front door laid us at ease.

"Well…that was interesting."

I ignored Damon's comment and instead swung my feet to the floor, sitting up from where I'd been laying down mostly. I turned to Stephan, interrupting whatever he was about to say: "Sorry, man-I didn't know she was your chick-hands and eyes off, promise." I said it with the utmost sincerity, my face straight and solemn-I could practically sense the snickers Damon was dying to release from behind my back. Wasn't my fault I wasn't used to this century's dumb vocabulary-I'd been a recluse too long. For years I'd stuck to the few woods in Maryland, the ocean only a few miles away, keeping my sanity anchored. Now that I was away, I regretted it-but I'd had to come-there was no other option. Stephan shut his mouth, nodding bravely. "I appreciate that Valerie." Wow-what a nice guy.

"You're welcome." I smiled gently, a little shy now at their reaction to my statement. "I'm a flirt…and gender doesn't really trip me up, sorry." I brushed a piece of hair behind my ear-what the hell was this? I felt ashamed-embarrassed of myself. This was a first.

"It's fine." Stephan reassured. "Now-I was told you didn't want to answer Damon's questions-" my eyes hardened, my anger flaring with a vengeance. "but I accept that. We don't have to know anything until the time is right." His eyes were so damn reassuring I found my feeling diminishing into an enveloping sense of calm. "What we do need to know is where you'll be staying in Mystic Falls while you're here."

My stomach dropped-I hadn't really planned this all out. I'd traveled all the way here, leaving the ocean so far behind it physically made me ache…but it had to be done.

"I hadn't planned that far ahead." I answered honestly. Stephan exchanged glances with Damon before turning back to me. "You can stay here, for now, if you want. Damon will show you how we live while I'm away-"

I opened my mouth to protest but Stephan continued, raising a hand in a sign of surrender. "Or, you can go to school with me." At this suggestion my mouth continued to stay open-was he joking? School? I hadn't been there in so long…

Stephan seemed to sense my discomfort at the subject and he leapt at the chance to ease my worries. "You appear to be Elena's age, but if we really need to we can compel the administrators to accept you." There was a long pause while I pondered, my thoughts bordering on a mix between disbelief and amazement.

School. School. High School.

Stephan held my gaze, his hands clasped on his knees, his light green eyes a touch gold in the dull lighting."You drink human blood?"

I nodded, he continued. "It won't be easy to resist killing students in broad daylight, especially with so many people. But you seem to have not eaten Elena-with traveling here you must be hungry and you didn't attack her."

Damon, silent for too long, raised his voice: "Stephan, I don't think-"

I wouldn't have done it, I don't think, had Damon not doubted me. That asshole thought I couldn't go through with it? That I couldn't handle high school for the second time in fifty-so years?

To hell with him.

"When do we start?"

My smile was quite dazzling, if I do say so myself-the light of it repelled Damon's inevitable cracks about which sex I preferred most.

**~ What do you think of Valerie? Is she really strange or someone you could see yourself having a good time with? Do you think Damon's real reason for kidnapping her is because of Katherine or something else? Any opinions are welcome... I love reviews, please and thank you.-MsArtemis~**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Gifts before School**

The rest of my night at the Salvatore house had been painless.

After I had decided to go to school Stephan said any more arrangements could be made in the morning and that I was welcome to the guestroom (one of multiple, apparently) upstairs, first door to the left-on Damon's floor. I had thanked Stephan profusely (even though my room was on Damon's floor), promising repeatedly that I'd be on my best behavior at school tomorrow- he'd accepted all the praise graciously, nodding once before he headed upstairs. Now alone in the living room with Damon, he strode toward me, away from the vicinity of the fireplace in a vain attempt to irk me. Rolling his eyes, twirling a bauble-y ring in-between his long fingers, he found his voice.

"Ah, Stephan. Always such a good little brother." I watched him out of the corner of my eye with caution, not quite getting his meaning-his tone was sarcastic, yes, but I had this nagging feeling that said there was underlying regret and possibly past issues. Wait, they were brothers? Mixed up in the mystery of Damon Salvatore I didn't waste my breath-things were too complicated already. In a millisecond I was in my bed, asleep, swearing to enjoy my stay here in Mystic Falls and to find _him_. And to make him pay.

The next morning shed light (figuratively-If there was any sunlight I'd be a French fry with a red wig) on my room, which I hadn't had the time to study the night before. The walls were an off beige and/or dark peach color all around, one bookshelf full of Classics occupying the space in between a large curtained window and my plain white bed. Across from the base of my bed was the simple white wood of a bathroom door-surprise, the bathroom was all white tile. Looks like both men, Damon and Stephan, needed a splash of color in their lives-I half wondered if I could paint the room then just decided against asking. Hell, if I wanted to paint it I would. Rushing into the bathroom for a shower, I glanced at the singular black clock that ticked above my bed-6:45. What time did school even start? Irritating anticipation quivered in my stomach and I cursed every deity I knew of for making me feel again before shutting the bathroom door.

Ten minutes later, (I didn't have patience for much. This included languorous showers.) I wrapped an immaculate white towel around my damp body, opening the door and stepping into my room without a second thought- and then I paused. Glancing over to the left I saw my bedroom door lay open a crack, which it hadn't before-I took in a deep breath and smelled it-him. I'd never really caught his scent before but I was stunned by it now. It was delicious and it stood out on its own, a highlight among the other normal scents that surrounded me. As I sniffed again, a bout of dizziness suddenly struck me-gasping I slammed my eyelids shut, holding them there. _A yard-beautiful, green open-a white, parasol with lace trim, above my head-storm clouds, icy cold rain, laughter as we are both wet to the bone…_

Forcing my eyes to open I banished the images, only to find my head facing the white sheets of my bed-where there was something on it. Something I hadn't put there, but my intruder had. My eyes still glued to the object on the bed I raised my voice, my words slightly shaky as my confusion was about to implode on itself. "Damonnnn-" His response from the living room cut me off completely: "You can thank me later." I gritted my teeth, throwing a burning glance to the hall outside my room before slamming the door and facing the 'gift' on the eggshell sheets. This was not a good way to start the day.

At around 7:20 I descended the stairs into the living room, where Stephan (in a grey tee, blue jeans, and black leather jacket) happened to be waiting at the bottom. I smiled warmly at him, feeling confident -and as much as I wouldn't admit it, Damon's 'gift' had to get some credit for making me feel so good. Stephan returned my grin, handing me an odd plastic bag at the bottom of the stairs. The delicious smell that wafted over me was absolutely tempting-I lifted my head from the top of the bag, meeting Stephan's eyes.

"Blood?"

"Yes. From local blood-banks; we have a fridge full of these in the basement. It'll take the edge off your hunger for most of the school day." There was a small pause-and then he pointed to my dress, asking: "Is that new?"

His question was a taboo, for Damon appeared around the corner grinning like a Cheshire cat. My mouth fell into a flat line as I replied from behind tight lips: "Yes." Damon's 'gift' was a brand new dress made of grape colored silk. It had wide straps that led to a zippered up back; the luxurious material followed my curves tightly 'till about an inch above my knees. The pleated bodice and sweetheart neckline gave me a fair amount of cleavage that called for no bra, which I'm sure Damon knew.

His step light with amusement, Damon beheld his creation, coming to a halt behind his younger brother. Seeing them together, side by side, caused a momentary flood of dizziness-I shook it off easily enough, but not before I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and I heard, clear as day: _"Miss Vielle, I would like the honor of presenting you with my boys…"_ All my muscles went on lockdown-the words were at my ear, right now, uttered in some silky woman's voice-had they heard it? Apparently, not, as Damon moved on.

"It's my treat-" Damon jovially supplied, eyes locked with mine, "you needed some clothes that weren't covered in mud." I grimaced half because of him, half because I was pretty sure I was going crazy.

Stephan halfway turned toward Damon, who now lurked behind him in a classy black button-up and jeans. Stephan met his brother's eyes incredulously, as if he couldn't quite believe it.

"A little too fancy for school, don't you think?" He murmured. Ignoring the situation that was unfolding rapidly I tore the top of the blood bag off with my teeth, sipping at it like a Kool-Aid package while I watched. Damon's grin grew impossibly wider: "I just thought purple was Val's color, Stefan." The pause was wrought with tension-I sipped some more, a little peeved that Damon said 'Val', once again. The brothers continued to stare each other down. "Are you saying Valerie doesn't deserve new clothes? Stefan!" Damon threw his hands up in the air, taking a casual step backward as if Stefan had personally shoved him. " I'm appalled at your lack of manners." Stephan nodded slowly, holding their gaze, as if he had expected that much from his older sibling. Finishing my blood bag off with an overly loud slurp, I broke up the conversation, catching both men's attention. Stephan appeared concerned and Damon's nose wrinkled in disgust at my eating habits-I almost laughed at the contradiction they presented.

"Time for school?" I suggested, instantly perky with now that I was full of AB positive. Stephan agreed wordlessly, passing his brother and going to the opposite end of the house. Not wanting to be left alone with Damon I sped up so that I was right behind Stephan, who opened a large door that presented a garage. "Be back later." He shouted over his shoulder-I was about to follow him when my wrist was ensnared, something metallic pressed into my palm-"Don't say I never did anything for you." Damon whispered harshly.

My wrist was thrown down roughly, and upon release, I looked behind me, but no one was there.

"Valerie?" Stephan called-I jerked back to the present, running to join him and leaving Damon behind in an empty mansion. "Coming!"

**~What do you think Damon gave Valerie? And what do you think is up with Valerie anyway... Tune in next chapter to see...Reviews are welcome. xoxo-MsArtemis~**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: How the First Day of School in 35 Years Sucked**

"Valerie Salvatore, correct?"

"That would be me." My answer was cool, sliding across the stale air of the classroom with ease. The history teacher, a cute man in his 30s with stubble and a choppy, modern haircut, seemed to have trouble taking his eyes off me. I got the sense that he wasn't ogling but struggling to come to terms with something.

"And you're related how…?"

"I'm their distant cousin. Is that a problem?" I raised my eyebrows high, pursing my lips like a pro bitch. Maybe I was-I didn't really care. Earlier, Stephen had given me the rundown (how to answer people's questions, what to expect, etc.) as soon as we had pulled into the school parking lot-starting with an explanation about the object Damon had thrust upon me earlier.

"_Why the hell did he give me a bracelet?" I pondered aloud, squinting at the silver chain in my palm. It was a heavy thing, not delicate in the least, the only charm to grace itself the outline of a dove. The bird had weight in it as well-I slipped the piece of jewelry on experimentally. Like an ornate manacle it brought weak color to my already pale skin-I hardly felt it but I was aware that a human might find the bracelet too heavy to wear. It fit me perfectly, securing around my wrist so that it would be hard to steal or fall off-how had he known my wrist size? "That'll protect you from the sun. " Stephan explained-my mouth opened and shut like a fish-I hadn't even thought of that particular weakness. "Good thing he remembered." I muttered, ignoring the rest of Stefan's words as I stepped out of the car and into the sunny parking lot fearlessly…_

"No-" Mr. Saltzman, the history teacher informed, blue eyes flashing. "But if you don't fix that attitude we might have one."Ah, there's the authority that I hated and admired. I smiled disdainfully up at him from front row, smoothing down a strand of my fiery hair with one finger as I cooed: "I'll be better."

The history teacher, now assured that I was in check, continued his lesson. As soon as his back was turned, I began looking around myself in earnest, even glancing over my shoulder to see if anyone looked like _him-Levi_. At this point I was attracting attention-irritation at some of the student's stares caused my tongue to grow thick and metallic tasting. I could snap all their necks in an instant so why would they even try giving me attention I didn't need? My resentment was roaring away inside me, pounding against my temples in the form of a monster headache-why did _feeling_ hurt so much? I was about to turn back and face the front of the class when Elena caught my eye. The concern in her face was a stab to my pride-I didn't need her pity. I turned to face the rest of the class, disappointment threatening to crawl up and out of my throat-would I ever give him justice? I continued to watch the rest of my history lesson with glassy eyes-my heart wasn't in it anymore and no one could say otherwise. So, come the bell that rang seventh period, I ditched.

"Honey I'm hommme." I trilled, slamming the front door shut more forcefully than necessary. The whole house shook, announcing my presence-as I stalked into the living room, kicking off my black heels with vigor, I caught sight of a bottle, balanced on the top of a mahogany table. All these emotions had me worn out and my hunger was sharpening, protruding from my personality like a stake. My bitterness maybe also had to do with the fact I hadn't found Levi-or anyone who even looked like him- all day. Just maybe.

And this aged brandy would certainly take the edge off. My hand shot out, gripping the glass neck so hard I could hear it straining to remain whole. _Just like me-trying to keep all the pieces together._ I tossed it back, alcohol burning my throat delightfully. It was in that position, head back, glass raised, that Damon found me. With a whoosh of air he appeared in the entryway, eyes flickering like azure flames and with a wicked grin to match. I lowered the bottle on sight of him, letting out a glorious, confident smile as he approached me slowly. "Well, well-someone's a bad girl." He stopped a foot away but I turned my back, swigging more drink before speaking again, my smile sour. "One whose smart enough to ignore you." In a flash of movement Damon stood in front of me, his stance threatening and dangerous. "Don't look away from me." I raised my eyebrows-was he joking? I didn't respond to authority.

His eyes were constantly changing, what he felt stirring in their depths or boldly sparkling outward. Currently his eyes were deep blue, a hazardous rustling lying underneath the color's surface-warning eyes; watch yourself eyes. "May I remind you that is _my_ drink, _Val_." He cautioned, tilting his head while his warning eyes sized me up like a panther does some small forest creature. For a second, I was fine-hating him, but fine. Then something about his warning shifted chaotically-the whole scene sprang to life, emotions searing rainbow across my vision. I suddenly realized how close we were-how unbearably close he was to the dress he had given me. The dress was the only thing between me and his muscles-he could do almost anything to me if he wanted to. My breathing picked up, a heavy in and out that was disturbing when there was no possible way I had a heart. I was dead-I shouldn't be feeling, I shouldn't be reacting-I should be calculating and cool and damn scary.

Damon peered down on me, button-up arms stiff at his sides, denim covered legs spread apart-still as death. In a matter of seconds I was acutely aware of the fact that he could kill me right now, just as he'd told me yesterday evening-if he wanted to he could. The thought of death, before I'd delivered my justice, was awful. And him, making me feel small, was worse.

He was so like _him_ I could scream-I could kill. Suddenly, I was no longer afraid. Color and heat flushed out of the room at a break-neck (no pun intended) speed. Whipping back my tangled crimson hair like a bitch, I delivered the full extent of my fury in one levelheaded green stare. "Don't call me Val." I hissed. I walked away before I could punch him, his smirk at my theatrics trailing me all the way up the stairs and into my bedroom.

Little did he know, I would suffer all night because of his nickname.

Whatever- it's not like he cares anyway.

**~Ooop-guess school wasn't as good as she planned on it being. Any comments, questions, concerns? Reviews of any form are very welcome, please and thank you.-MsArtemis~**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Shopping Nightmares**

"_I'm getting tired, Val. Let's go somewhere quieter." _

_I stopped waving my arms, dropping them limply, dizzy (as my flowered headband was probably cutting off my circulation). I turned to Levi and breathed: "What?" He stood still in the shadows, away from the flickering flames of the audience's candles, his tan skin appearing extremely wan in the silvery light of the moon-and still he was beautiful. My Levi. Panting from my enthusiastic cheering of a local band aptly named 'WitchKraft ' I found myself drawn to Levi's emerald eyes-I watched them widen, the pupils dilating. "Come with me." He commanded-I didn't seem to see the tightness in his face, the way his lips were straighter than usual-I breezed to his side without another thought. My panting ceased: "Coming, Levi." He smiled, his teeth gleaming strangely. It seemed that time always skipped for us-and suddenly we were by a laughing stream, his hand tersely on my back. I blinked three times, my stomach suddenly frigid. "Levi…why are we here? We should get back to WitchKraft…don't you like them?" He didn't reply right away, focusing on taking off my headband and tossing it to the mossy ground. His fingers pushed aside a curtain of my red locks, which I was so proud of-I'd been growing it for all of high school, its length almost reaching as far as my ass. Gently tugging my hair to one side he exposed my neck-he began breathing harder now, as if he was excited. Even now, he was gorgeous-I would do anything for those glimmering jade eyes, that silvery blonde hair."Yes…I like them, Val. I just like you more." The heat of his breath alit the length of my flesh and I giggled feverishly, feeling light-headed. _

_"Do you wanna mess around?" I whispered, hoping I sounded sexy. "Hell yes."His answer was more of a growl-heat slipped in between my legs at the sound. I was studying him out of the corner of my eye when he tilted my head to the far side, pressing his nose to my neck and inhaling deeply. My giddy girlfriend high dissipated in the warm summer night air, my terror piquing at my boyfriend's queer smelling exercise. "Levi…" I murmured; worry piercing the dreamy state I was in. This wasn't Levi-Levi was loud and vivacious but was often polite, romantic. An unusual match for me, considering I was a peaceful, smoke-free, hippy- but now he was dangerously soft, his actions fast and sharp, as if he was running out of time."You're beautiful…" His compliment rang in my ears, and in a lighting move he shoved me to the ground, his body pressed on top of mine. "Levi-" My chest began rising, up and down, as he hovered above me, his eyes gleaming, gleaming…He had moved too fast, it wasn't normal, I needed to get out, get away. The sense of wrong was so strong it impeded my speech-and then he began to change. There was a crackle-his eyes darkened, his smile sharpening until he held a mouth full of fangs. In a millisecond, he was on me, his mouth squelching into my neck in a vicious hold._

_ I screamed as loud as I could, struggling, kicking-his body pressed along every inch of mine, too strong and too heavy to resist. My screams caused him to pull back, his lips covered in my blood; "You are of their blood-I can taste it." His eyes glowed and I stopped fighting, suddenly struck by his strange words and tone. "You are the one. You are the one…" His eyes met mine, the light in his eyes fading; I didn't understand his words. Somewhere inside of me said I should listen to him, listen and beware. "What..am…I?" The words bore no semblance to anything I myself could understand, but of course, he heard me. "An asset." He crooned- and then, without warning, he smacked me across the face-the action caused my body to convulse, my mouth to go slack. The slap had been too hard; I now bordered the edge of death. I felt his mouth on me one last time, drawing out the worst pain imaginable as I began to black out-"Everything's fine, Val…shush." _

It was about mid-afternoon when I decided to head downstairs. The night before Stephan had been at Elena's till late-by the time he came home I was asleep and he apparently decided against talking to me about me ditching before last period. And I wasn't going to school on this lovely Tuesday because I'd woken up screaming. This in turn resulted in a seriously concerned Stephan at my side, inquiring about everything and anything. In rebuttal, I claimed it was because I was stressed about school-I could tell he really didn't believe me but I couldn't share with him the true source of the nightmare. For the first time in several years, I had relived my changing; let me tell you, it is not pleasant. Damon had not even bothered to check up on me-and considering the incident the night before I didn't mind. While Stephan was trying to drag answers out about my nightmare, I effectively changed topics-I admitted that I had indeed pissed Damon off the night before. Recounting the whole story took away what little time he had before school, so the conversation ended early. Before he left he warned me: "Pissing off Damon isn't a good idea. As soon as he finds you useless he'll get rid of you-I can't protect you if you purposely provoke him."

Around three, dressed in the clothes I had first showed up in, I entered the living room. My black heels' racquet was swallowed by inches of thick carpeting, though I'm sure if any vampire listened in I'd sound like a human. Sweeping my hair over one shoulder rather unconsciously, I collapsed on one of the leather couches, yelling out: "Damonnn!"

"Don't careee." Was the quick response-I would drag him up here but I was lazy and his voice rang from the unknown bowels of the Salvatore mansion. For some reason, the nightmare had bumped something inside me-my goal was clear, and new ways to achieve it had appeared unto me. Cold, icy, was my flavor now-but I wouldn't show that to Damon. He obviously didn't like girls like me-hard, manipulative, frozen and unexposed-so I would play my part. My part in a one statement: Damsel in Distress who acts like she's a tough cookie. _Fun._

I let out a dramatic sigh, kicking up my legs on the couch arm in a languid fashion. "Damonnn;" the essential girly pause, "please." The words, to my own ears, rang true-it sickened me how realistic that single sentence sounded; like I would ever need his help with anything. Today, however, I did-for the last time I had driven a vehicle was incalculable and I had no idea how to get around present day Mystic Falls. "You don't talk like Katherine."

Had I been a weaker person, I may have jumped at the sound of Damon's accusation creeping down my neck. As I was not and I happened to be an uncontrollable flirt, I arched my neck backward until his face hovered above mine. He was leaning over the side of the couch, his blue eyes unusually calm-he must have eaten this morning. My lips parted in a coy smile, and he returned the smirk in turn, but I cut him off in my haste-for a brief second, I wondered if this would ruin my innocent façade. I had to be careful-I had to make Damon believe I was trustworthy and someone whose emotions were in reach-and if I could pull that off, he'd unknowingly help me kill Levi.

"I have to go to the store. To get clothes." His eyes lit up but I continued onward, as if I hadn't noticed the mischievousness in his gaze. With one careless hand I indicated my limp body, enjoying the plausible seconds were his eyes trailed my hand. "As you can see, I'm still wearing the clothes I was kidnapped in." He snorted after the word 'kidnapped', turning his head away from me, elbows burrowing in the leather in order to support himself to stand over me. "Kidnapped…sounds so bad, don't you think? I prefer the term 'borrowed temporarily'." I pouted up at him, stretching my arms up and over my head, my lace top straining over my body. Either he knew what game I was playing and was pretending not to care or his eyes were just taking clear advantage of the scenery-I could hardly tell. Turning it up a notch, I breathed in deeply, allowing my chest to raise high and gain full recognition before it sank back down. "So I'm here temporarily?" I chirped-I was pleased to find his eyes narrow as he shoved himself away from the couch. "I didn't say that."

A few minutes later found Damon and I parked in the Mystic Falls Mall parking lot-and on the verge of an argument. He had a goal too-to get information out of me, as well as he could, before we reached the vicinity of any store.

"You don't sound like any vampire I know from the 1800s-" Maybe because I wasn't, imbecile. "where's the proof? You haven't told us your story yet, which I may remind you, is very suspicious-"

"And Stephan says I don't have to." I reminded him coolly, opening the passenger door of his car and stepping out-only to find Damon in front of me, seriously pissed. His sapphire eyes were dull with withheld irritation, his body tightening under his silk blue button-up and black jeans. "The only reason you are alive-"His irises danced like dying embers at 'alive', " is because of me." He ended, his voice low and rolling out in a gravely growl. I felt something inside me stir at his words but I buckled it down, blinking only twice, as if I was surprised. Silently, I climbed all the way out of the car, slamming the door with a bang before leaning against the sky-blue exterior. Meeting his eyes I channeled what I thought kindness was, within me, calling upon it for the appropriate response to this threat. Crossing my arms I smiled softly, wind snapping strands of my hair against my cheeks. "All in time, Damon. In time." His response was a flat mouth and blistering eyes: "Don't make me regret it." His bullying moment over with he presented me with his retreating back, heading in the direction of the mall so quickly I wondered if I'd heard his threat at all.

I was cool with the tight, lilac shirt with a rose design on the front- until I realized that the color was the same shade of the dress Damon had given me. Not wanting to add to Damon's ego, I slammed it back down on the rack, glancing around desperately. Had stores really changed this much? The sizes were bigger but tighter, the colors duller and with boring patterns-nothing appealed to me. I was having this almost claustrophobic sensation-like everything I knew was a lie. I almost slapped myself to pull it together-I had loved shopping as human. And somehow that side was managing to slide through the cracks in my frozen wall. Slamming down on the remaining embers of my human life, I stepped away from the clothing, carelessly calling out, "Come on-let's leave." Damon heard me-of course he had-and came to my side in a flash, an impish grin appearing as he took in my sour appearance. I raised my eyes to him and realized he wore a tacky grey fedora on and I blinked, genuinely shocked. I'd never really seen such a hat, except in this particular store-but damn, if it didn't look fine against the flashing of his blue eyes. Catching my gaze his grin expanded: "Nothing fit you? It must have been a long time since you've had new clothes, so I'd understand."

This damsel appearance was getting harder to pull-I wondered if I was making any progress at all despite all the efforts I was making. The comment was creating a flaring effect in my chest-I suddenly felt my hunger sharpening, the skin around the hollow of my eyes crinkling-I turned away and simply sufficed with: " I just couldn't find anything worth wearing. Next store?"

"Uhmm. Well I think I know what store would work for you that fits your style." I was glad I was under control when he decided to appear at my side, fedora gone and returned to the store from which we had left. (Funny-I thought he would have stolen it.)

"Really? And that would be…?" Craning my neck sideways, I met his gaze, my mood too dark to summon up a teasing walking at my side, he studied my facial features with a lopsided grin, as if he knew everything about me already. "Vintage. That's your style." Confident in his assessment he turned his head away from me, walking in a general direction. I turned my head straight too, as if I was digesting the truth in his words. Really, I was just trying to suffocate this feeling-this feeling that said we had done this before. That we did know each other, not just from three days ago-and that's how he knew my style. The idea was ludicrous, however, and I dropped it as soon as we entered another store.

True to his word, my style was vintage. Or classic, whichever you preferred-Damon made some snappy comment about how vampires were always classy dressers and nodded, acting like I agreed. When I stepped out of the dressing room in a tiny burgundy dress that complemented my hair, the salesperson that had assisted me was flustered. A little blonde thing no more than 5'4 with super duper red lipstick that made her eyes pop-in her cute way she made several high-pitched praises that caused me some attention. I didn't mind-I surveyed the small handful of humans studying me as I clipped off in heels to the nearest mirror. It was the same black heels I had arrived to Mystic Falls in-they were a thick, glistening ebony that pushed me above the height of normal women and made my legs delicious. The dress, however, was a tiny piece of clothing-a scrap for most girls. It was rich in color, a v-neck making up most of the outfit (if you could call it a v-neck; it plunged till the top of my abs, making it more of a ripped shirt) and displayed my large pale breasts. There were a bit of ruffles around the V that gave it texture and a gold button that signaled its end. Other than that it was simple and went straight down to about the top of my thighs. My head swiveled, my body sensing Damon's gaze rather than hearing his approach- glowing sea eyes raked down my frame several times before his attention turned to the salesperson. "She'll take it. Do you have any lingerie that would go with that?"

As the salesperson tittered off with him, I faced my reflection, grinning cattishly at the irresistible, deadly woman I saw in there. "Ready or not, Levi-" I whispered, "here I come."

My green eyes burned like pines on fire.

**~What do ya think? I had to include a shopping scene...God forbid she needed clothes anyway...ummkay. Valerie in the burgendy dress described above:** .net/gallery/albums/other-photographers/photography-by-primal-stare/1_ **Reviews are loveeelyyy. Enjoy!-MsArtemis~**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6- Déjà Vu**

I was awoken gently-a general surprise to be sure if I wasn't so good at not caring. "Valerie?" Without opening my eyes I stretched as if I was an Egyptian cat, enjoying the popping of my muscles before my emerald eyes slid open. At the foot of my bed sat Stephen-how the hell had he gotten in?-dressed neatly in a brown sweater and dark jeans, his gaze soft and curious.

"Mmmm I love being woken up in the morning."

His head dipped, his jade eyes solidly on mine as his smile tightened in sympathy. He paused-"I know this isn't a good time to discuss things…but I wanted to know how yesterday went…and if you're ready to go to school yet." I winced, my arms sliding down so I could cover my face with the reassuring solidity of my hands. My words were swallowed up in the weight of my palms, but I kept on, hoping that I would juice out some more sympathy. "Yesterday was great. Went shopping. With Damon."

"So how did shopping with Damon go?" His voice was so straight on innocent-if I had never met Damon, I would have assumed that Stephan wasn't lilting at another answer. I spread my fingers wide, my eyes peering out at him from between the spaces, deciding to be honest with this one. "How do you think it went?"

"That bad?"

"When is he not?"

He smiled at me, a grin full of pearly whites-and then it slipped away, replaced with a pondering expression. "You-" I let my hands fall, my eyebrows raised at the mood switch, "remind me of someone." His hands lay in his lap, his feet on the ground , his body making an imprint at the foot of my bed-he was a peaceful man. Yet, the words were over-tender, hinting at a nursing wound; he nodded solidly after the statement, a mute signal of acceptance. Weirdly, I had the feeling that I knew what was going on- that a girl friend he had known had died-and he had accepted it. I was instantly swept off my feet in a tidal wave of empathy-and the need to cheer him up, to joke around with him, was too high, too much. The emotion literally shoved me forward-I sat up very quickly, going cross-legged, the gauzy white sheet slipping off my frame and exposing me only in a spankin' new set of evergreen bra and panties. "Oooo-" I cooed "Who would this mystery girl be?" Stephen's forehead crinkled, his eyes running me up and down once in a half-second; his mouth dropped, an awkward: "Uhhh-" tumbling out as he turned his head away. "You should put some clothes on." I had expected the courteous response but it snagged a giggle in me, stretching it out into a melodious sound that sprinkled onto the ill at ease silence. "Oh, come on. Nothing you haven't seen before, I'm surrre." The 'sure' rolled off my tongue in a playful purr and I bowed my head, making a teasing picture. It was another prolonged second later when I realized my mistake-I was being me, I couldn't be me-because no one wanted that. I saved the real me for Levi-he would see it right before I tore his heart out.

Swallowing loudly I snatched the sheets up as if they were precious, pulling it over myself as if I'd had a change of heart. "I'm sorry-"my genuine words did little to prevent him from standing but I rampaged on, "but who am I like?" I met his eyes under my eyelashes, honestly curious. He looked down on me, peering into my face thoughtfully, if not on guard. "A girl named Lexi." The words were flat but I knew better-I chose to keep silent. "She was my best friend for a long time." Self-consciously his fingers fiddled with the ring that bragged on his left hand, his eyes fixed on it as he spoke, as if the memories could be found in its lapis luzi surface. "She was a lot like you…" As he trailed off I was sorely tempted to speak up-but somehow I didn't think this would help my rapidly deteriorating damsel façade. A moment later he glanced up, pinning me down with dead eyes. "Damon killed her." He said-and then, just like that, he strolled out of the room, his fingers finding solace in meddling with his ring.

A few hours later, not caring that the whole house empty, I decided that today would be an exploring day. That I would search and search to my heart's content-until I knew everything about the Salvatore's that I needed to know. Running upstairs found me in the only room there-Stephan's room, where a shelf to the right of the door held several journals. Enthused by my find I raced to it, enveloping armfuls of journals and depositing them on the bed. _Good way to start out the day-in new lingerie and reading a stranger's hidden thoughts. _I toasted the opening of the first leather bound volume with a whiskey bottle stolen from Damon's alcohol cabinet-I smirked, my grin floating along with the words that started it all: _'Dear Diary…'_

It must have been late afternoon when I felt a presence in the room with me, a certain gaze that incinerated my bra straps. Without a glance, I turned a worn page, skimming yet again while I spoke.

"How long have you been there?"

"How long have you been breaching Stephan's privacy? Very naughty, by the way-"

My head snapped up and I met his eyes with cool fury-he grinned cheekily, a crystal glass in hand. His eyes slandered my body as the rim of the glass touched his lips; "Love the outfit by the way." The glass went back, the liquid washing down Damon Salvatore's vile throat.

"Can't say I'm glad you approve." I hissed, my eyes back on the page-already, I had learned so much. I had started with the more recent journals-and I was too impatient to read every single word, but my skimming proved useful-I already knew things that made my skin crawl. Stephen was in love with this Elena, always had been-he had once loved someone named Katherine, who was apparently the doppelganger of Elena as they appeared like mirror images to the unknowing eye. I was just touching the most recent journals, about his first meetings with Elena Gilbert, and I found myself easily confused. There were things missing-there were times he hinted at things that I didn't understand. And, when Stephen's uneven scrawls twisted out the word _Damon_; God forbid, that man was trouble if not the most hated big brother in the universe. I was devouring a certain section about Jeremy Gilbert, a girl named Vicky, and Damon's stupid, selfish involvement when I found the book torn out of my hands.

"I think that's enough for today-" Damon called, ignoring the loud sound of outrage that ripped past my lips. In a flash I was standing, reaching for the journal-Damon, glass in one hand, leather bound treasure in the other, dangled the journal above me with a smirk. To my surprise, air whistled into my mouth, snatching my throat in a horrid sound that made him raise his eyebrows in pale disbelief-I had just growled at him. Vaguely I could hear the warning sound-the crackling of a fire or cracks sneaking through marble-that signaled my eye color change. Black-eyed and snarling I experienced something-a burning hole in my chest, a pressing force on my body-pure anger. It was familiar and irrational, yet, I had no control over it-it was quicksand on my reason, my thoughts. Everything lay down flat, bowing down to primal urges that were in my nature-to fight and defend my claim. So I did, by attempting to punch Damon in the stomach-one second my hand was intent on the kill-the next it was useless. In a millisecond, I felt his fingers close around my wrist, and with a piercing snap that drew out a howl from me I suddenly held against the wall by my throat, several inches above the despicable Damon Salvatore.

On the ground we were about face to face-now I was forced to look down on him with my eyes, unable to sense anything but pain below his clamped fingers. His sparkling blue eyes met mine, though they seemed inexplicably darker in the light-the same shade as his black ensemble (black T-shirt, black jeans). Weak, my wrist throbbing as it healed, I glared at him with as much hate as I could muster while I lay exposed before him. My lip curled as his gaze lowered, his eyes trailing over my heaving body. A humorless cackle snuck out of my mouth, air barely bypassing his hold on me. His eyes snapped to mine, instantly suspicious as I said: "Kill me big boy. See how much you'll know then." The light that flared behind his irises caused me to grin mockingly-boys were all the same -my question was why he wanted to know about Katherine-was it to help Stephen? It didn't seem typical Damon-but then again, what happened next wasn't like what I knew of him either.

A second later, my feet were on the floor, my wide eyes locked with his desperate own as air painfully slammed down my throat. He wasn't done, however-approaching me, lip curled in disgust he swaggered closer-a tense half second later found us almost chest to chest, a inch or two between us. "Tell me-" his eyes widened dangerously, ".know." Once again, as I had in the forest, his words did not frighten me-they caused strange reactions, as if he was tapping internal wires that had long gone cold, his interference reigniting them the wrong way. My laughter was breathless, filled with scorn as I replied with: "What did I tell you yesterday, Damon? You're not going to get anything out of me by force." His face remained frozen-I grew bold, my body warming up as I somehow reached inside myself and-did something unexpected. It was a urge unlike my own, something that I knew, for whatever reason, how he would exactly react to it. It was a sure thing in my mind-and suddenly I was there, doing it, almost against my will. Stepping forward I brushed past him, my hand scampering to his collarbone-as I walked away I let my finger snake along its length until it slipped and fell off his shoulder-under my touch he tensed, but as my hand dropped, so did my spell over him.

Flipping around he was halfway across the room in a second, his hand gripping my arm so tight I could think of little else but to come to a halt. I turned my head sideways, facing him, and his blue eyes met mine. Frantically he searched my face, his eyebrows pulled tight on his forehead. "You-" my eyes blazed at him in fury as he continued to speak, "remind me of someone." I blinked, all anger vanishing- I did? Nameless joy and anticipation flowed through me-I shut my eyes for three seconds, holding the seconds I didn't see his face as precious. These weren't my feelings-they couldn't be; they didn't make any sense. The words he had spoken were déjà vu, echoing numbly in my brain as his fingers strengthened in their grasp, as his eyes turned maniac and his eyebrows pulled into a sharp, vicious 'V'. "And I don't like her." He hissed- my stomach sank at the assessment and I felt another small rip inside me I was shoved away, leaving me free in the middle of Stephen's room. I blinked, twice-the brothers had somehow found two people in me, and that was scary enough-and then there was my own constant deju vu episodes, hearing voices, having random visions and dizziness attacks so sudden I almost passed out. Me-a vampire; none if it made sense-and the one thing I could feel, most very clearly, is that I was frightened out of my wits.

So I ran past Damon and down the stairs-I heard him following me and picked up speed, heart pounding as I touched down in the living room within seconds. I was about to speedy out the door as well when my ears and eyes picked up on something-Stephen and Elena, in the entryway, staring at me as I came to a shuddering stop. Dressed in only a bra and panties, once again, I waved softly at the shocked couple and breathlessly came up with: "Hi." Dread pooled in my stomach as I heard a soft thump behind me and a, "How was school?" _Damn. Damon. Salvatore. _

Stephen and Elena's eyes couldn't seem to stop tracing patterns-they leapt back and forth to Damon and me-both of us a little winded, me practically nude, and Damon being-well, Damon. Having ignored the oldest Salvatore's inquiry, I grinned weakly, managing a few steps of confidence near them. Elena's chocolate eyes landed on me last, confusion, surprise, and disgust the most apparent in her gaze as I swooped in to save my rep.: "Nothing like a lazy day to make me feel better. Just-" I shrugged hopelessly, hoping it was charming, "too comfortable to get out of my P.J.s." Her face regained some expression that made her look like she was listening so I fumbled to regain her favor. "Your wonderful boyfriend has offered me a comfortable, beautiful place to stay." I beamed at Stephen after the statement, the warmth in my glow adding understanding to his returning smile. "Thank you." I informed him, honesty tinting my tone to downright sincerity.

"You're welcome, Valerie." Stephen informed, and I smiled wider, delighted by his white knight ways. For no reason at all I found myself yearning for acceptance-I turned to Elena, my hands clasping in front-a signal of my dire need for her approval. Meeting my eyes I found her gaze blank-and then she nodded slowly, a reluctant smile coming along with: "Glad you are enjoy your stay." My enthusiastic nods encouraged her, communicating that I was 'enjoying my stay', but she then turned a critical, heavy eye to the man behind me-her gaze landed on him and for a brief moment I thought I saw a shimmer of hurt in her eyes-and then she drew her gaze back to me. "I wanted to ask you, Valerie-" her voice was hesitant, soft as my name rolled off her tongue, "if you wanted to join us at the wake today." She paused, giving Stephen a quick glance-he returned the look with an imperceptible nod and I was left vaguely wondering why she needed confirmation. Her eyes raced back to mind again, filled with determination, her strength renewed after receiving Stephen's support. "Me and Stephen think some time outside of the house might be good for you." She smiled tightly afterwards, reaching desperately for Stephen's hand. I didn't have to brood about why she had offered-as she had posed the question I caught her gaze flickering at Damon in the background. They wanted me away from him-they were scared for _me_, protecting me. They had no reason to-but I suddenly found myself agreeing-if this made Damon pissed, I was sure to be in a good mood for the rest of the day. "Sure-I'd like that."

"Of course you would. More throats to snack on," was the immediate, so-right-behind-me reply.

I merely rolled my eyes, resolving not to rip out his throat because the blood would get all over my precious lingerie.

**~How do you think Valerie will do at the Lockwood's wake? Who do you think Valerie reminds Damon of? Do you think Stefan and Damon's views of her are correct in any way? Reviews please, reviews 3-MsArtemis~**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7-Wasting Beautiful Bodies is a Sin**

_I was pulled by something-I'm sure of it now. A force deep within me that led my eyes to snap open, my breath to come in distressed only to choke-the air was hurting me. I coughed forcefully, my body snapping up so that I could bend over- and that was when I realized something was wrong…that several things were wrong. I could live without breathing, first, so I stopped in my struggles to breathe 'right'. Second, I'd just moved abnormally fast-third, when I'd reached up with trembling fingers, my sight catching every skin fleck, my hearing catching every muscle movement-my touch indicated something abnormally sticky on my lips which, my scent informed me, was blood. Shaken to my core I leapt to my feet in shock, only to find myself out of the shadows of an over laden bush. As soon as the sunrays touched my skin, I let out a brief screech before finding myself once again on the ground, under the protective shade once more. Glancing at my arms, I saw my skin burnt almost to the muscle-I flinched, shuddering as I shuffled nearer to the base of the shrubbery. To my horror, I heard a soft laugh from my far left, a hand reaching out to brush my shoulder- "You'll get used to it, love." He cooed, stroking my hair with his long fingers-I flipped my body around to face him, staying in the shade as I found him right behind me. Levi's elongated, muscular body lay only inches away from mine-he was wearing his black jeans and 'WitchKraft' T-shirt, but they were blood-spattered-I barely wore any clothing, my T-shirt and jeans now blood covered and in shreds. _

_I touched myself, scared out of my wits-my head snapped up at Levi-he was eyeing my body casually, as if he'd seen many girls almost naked before. As if I was just another girl that he had…done what to? This was not Levi, it couldn't be-Levi didn't try and scare me and he most certainly did not have the remains of a strong British accent. He was an American: loud, outspoken, a peace-lover, against hurting anyone-his frosty eyes met mine and every assumption I'd ever had about him fell away. "The sun…" he whispered, pushing away another strand of my hair, watching it as he spoke "will burn you. Burn us. You musn't go in it-stick to the shadows, the dark and you'll be safe." Leaning forward he kissed my collarbone, his lips a feathery pressure on my new, sensitive skin-my eyes flickered briefly in pleasure, even though I was shivering with fear. As he pulled away, his lips kept moving, as if this talk was inevitable. "You are strong now-strong like me. You can hurt anyone, tell anyone what to do with a mere command-you can entice anyone into the woods these days…" He was fixated with my hair, his hands continually picking up long strands and brushing them dry of leaves and dirt. "Why-" my voice was higher than I'd ever realized, my new ears picking up on its pitch almost instantly, "would we want to hurt people? Levi, I thought you hated-"_

_Levi interrupted me, his fingers halting as his eyes flew to mine. "I killed you. I hit you, snapped your neck like an insect leg and I drank your blood." My eyes grew wide, peering into his insane own. "I couldn't waste such a beautiful body…truly, you are one of the best I've had." His tongue flashed out, swiping across his ruby stained mouth; "So I forced my blood down your throat-" My fingertips jumped to my lips once more, my fright almost overtaking all my emotions and senses. "and now you are almost as full a vampire as I was in 1773-your lineage will make you great. Did you know I knew who you were from the beginning?" Frantic at his insane words, I tried to scoot away, shaking my head, but he just grabbed my arms, pulling me up against every line of his rock solid body-fury flooded through me and I shoved him with everything I had. I was surprised when I flew back almost 3 inches, close to being out of the shadows, but free-I almost fled had the sun not made me pause. With renewed vigor, he pulled me against him, lifting one of my legs around him so that we were in a very inappropriate position. Tears welled up in my eyes, burning as I felt his hardness in-between my thighs-this wasn't anything for him, I still wasn't strong enough-what was he going to do to me? Suddenly he forced my head to snap up, his eyes meeting mine as he hugged me with his legs tighter. "Shush." He cooed, glancing over my shoulder._

_**Thump, thump, thump-**__ I turned my head as much as I could, just in time to catch sight of a wayward audience member. Her tight shirt displayed the orange letters 'Witch Kraft' her tangled, mahogany curls, swollen ruby lips, and hazy eyes the sign of a high, happy, concert-goer. "Aaron?" she called, "Where did you go?" __**Thump, thump, thump- **__My stomach burned, my muscles flexed and Levi chuckled, his laugh as soft as midnight air. Turning to him, I saw the manic sparkle in his eyes as his legs tightened-I bit my lip, trying not to cry out in pain as his body jolted against mine. "Well, are you going to eat or not?" He snarled._

"Well, who is this?"

Standing in the doorway of the Lockwood mansion proved difficult. I wasn't used to the feeling of 'not welcome' that doors provided for vampires. I wanted to burst in, glow in my dapper, silky grey dress-apparently not. "Valerie Salvatore." I replied sweetly, my smile radiant. Well, not only was my smile radiant, but probably me as well-the warm air and sunshine was lending a glow around my pale, lithe form, adding fire to the red waves that lay a few inches past my shoulders. In the afternoon light my eyes were the same shade of my dress-a pearly grey that reminded one of a spare color from some sunset pallet. It also showed no cleavage, being a very modest T-shirt dress that loved my curves. Mrs. Lockwood, a tiny older woman in a flapper dress (minus the beads and with a shorter hemline) and heels, wearily inquired-"Valerie Salvatore? Related to the Salvatore brothers?" Resisting the urge to tap my petite banana yellow heels on the porch I put all my weight on one leg unconsciously, my arms crossing up and under my bosom. "The very one. You know my cousins?" My voice was sickly sweet but she seemed to eat the whole show up-it was strange. "Oh, yes. The mayor knew them as well…" I raised my eyebrows at that but she pressed on, her large spindrift eye fading in color as she went on. "He was a respected member of this community and I'm sure he appreciated everything the Salvatore's have done for this town." Her eyes seemed to shine, a promise of sure coming tears, but she blinked, banishing any opportunity to weep away. Coming to life again her eyes reached up and over my shoulder, scouring the sparse line of guests waiting behind me: "Did you arrive with them?". Damn, this lady needed to move on and forget my 'cousins' or we were gonna have a small scale riot on our hands. "They'll be arriving shortly." I grabbed her attention by extending my finger in the direction of the inside, where people somberly discussed the mayor to the background of various piano mantras. "May I come in?" She waved her hands in grand gestures of flattery, tittering like a bird. "Of course you can-thank you again, for coming." Voile!- and, just like that, I was in.

Stalking into the room I was suddenly overwhelmed-I hadn't seen this many people in one room since…I don't know when. Gritting my teeth, I hastened over to the food table, where the crowd thinned-I didn't need to see the texture of the expensive crab cakes for my mouth to start watering-I was already surrounded by the best buffet I could ever dream of. Swallowing in a deep lungful of air I craned my neck downward so I got a good view of the gleaming white floors-it was a safety precaution as I didn't need any attention that would ruin my mission. To my surprise I heard the fateful crumpling paper sound, the burning suction that tightened on my stomach-I was vamping out because of a little party; I had to get a grip. It was when I had spent several seconds bent over, shoving the burning back down into silence, when someone addressed me.

"Are you alright?" I immediately felt a light pressure on my back, the reassuring presence of someone's hand. "Yes-" I gasped, startled into a standing position before I could respond. _Damn reflexes; gets you every time. _The man before me-no, the boy-was ready to run at my quick movements, but was obviously too interested in my identity to leave. And may I mention-he was _adorable_. My response to the pretty face before me was immediate; I brushed a hand over my hair as if dazed, my smile dazzling as I glanced up at him from under my lashes. "May I inquire to whose asking?" I cooed-the boy smiled. He had a strong, clean jaw, blonde curls- the curls hurt my heart, stabbing it quickly before it skipped to life again...ever since I could remember I had a soft spot for curls. "The name's Adam." He held out his hand stiffly and I shook it, pleased with his awkwardness-it made this all so much easier. "Valerie."

"Are you new here, in Mystic Falls?" He wore a plain white button up that left two buttons undone and short sleeves that showed off bulging biceps, the pulse ticking away erratically underneath the thin, pale skin of his neck. He wore a nice set of blue jeans and I couldn't help but enjoy the way they fit him as he leaned back, trying to act confident in front of me-however, I was the one who could hear his rampaging heart beat. Grinning cattishly I leaned forward, pressing my hands against his large chest. He was at least 3 heads taller than me, a basketball player for sure, much taller than Damon…

What the hell? Why had I just thought of Damon? Damon wasn't here-and Damon, that asshole, sure as fuck didn't matter.

Looking up with my dewy green eyes I heard his heart skip-"Yes, I am. Would you like to…show me how things are…" I slipped an arm around his neck (quite a reach) bringing us chest to chest-he met my eyes and my lips stretched farther. "Done around here?" The breathless question restarted his heart into overdrive-it beat away frantically, inches away from my own, which lay as still and cold as ice. The glow in his eyes was familiar-I'd seen it many times before in men, and inwardly? It sickened me. Lust and love with men was a thin line, each easily a small push away from the other; women had the ability to rise above all and look down on it. That's exactly what I had just done. I'd won this Adam's love and/or lust, no compulsion needed-and my feelings from days before were completely gone. I was a vampire now-no emotions to speak of as I gazed into his moon-struck puppy face.

"Sure." He breathed.

"Wonderful-" I answered brightly, pulling away and turning my body to the open dance floor-he watched all my movements as if hypnotized. "Shall we dance?"

* * *

><p>"Who . Is that beauty?" I panted out-Adam's arm flexed around my back, as letting me go after forty five minutes of small talk was too painful. He enlightened me, however, not surprised in the least as he glanced in the direction of a rather slim black-haired girl who was making her way across the dance floor. "There's lots of people here. Mr. Lockwood was the mayor, you know. And it is also a celebration for Vicky Donavan, I guess, because she was found dead in the woods-"Irritated I flipped my head upward, meeting his eyes. "Tell me who she is." I hissed, my eyes widening as my compulsion did its magic. Adam returned my gaze blankly, his numb thin lips twitching out: "Nadia. Local girl, cheerleader." I smirked at his submission to my command, brushing off his jaw affectionately. "Let's go get her shall we?"<p>

* * *

><p>Minutes later found me in a wide, open area I assumed was the study of the previous Mayor. It lay empty-except for Nadia, who was chatting with Elena. My, together did they look fine! Shoving Adam away from where he'd previously been by my side, I kept my targets set, whispering: "Be right back. <em>Stay here<em>." He wouldn't move.

"-and I felt so bad for them, you know? Like Matt is so sad and Caroline's never with him anymore-"

"That must be…terrible." Elena was saying, her ebony curls kissing against the leather of her jacket. I liked her hair curled-it was gorgeous, as was she. She had decided to play up the bad boy feel today, sporting a leather jacket, tight jeans, and heels that she leaned pretentiously on. She pronounced 'terrible' as if it was a new word, her face as frozen as a statue; for one second I found her vaguely familiar, as if from a half-remembered dream. Had I seen her looking like this elsewhere…? Chills ran up and down my spine-I hastily assumed it was because her look turned me on but somewhere in my mind I knew otherwise. Fearing my strange reactions to Elena's newfound fashion sense, I plunged right into the middle of their conversation. "Hello, girls."

Standing between Nadia and Elena I could truly appreciate both their beauty-it made me want to lick my lips. Elena scoured me up and down slowly, her mouth as straight as a rod- where in hell had I seen her before? And Nadia tilted her head to the side, causing the sparkles on her dress to glimmer while she stared at me. "Are you…new here?" Nadia asked, raising her delicate eyebrows as if I was making some horrendous and no doubt obvious mistake. Oh, well-I'd change how she thought of me with time. I returned the gesture, raising my eyebrows high and making a mock open-mouthed smile. "How'd ya know?" I gushed. Nadia presented me with a prim smile before turning back to Elena. "Well, I'm gonna leave now…" Her tone indicated she didn't like me-that would change, soon. Elena delivered a smooth goodbye-Nadia attempted to turn eyes away from me as she passed me, in a snobby fashion, to the exit. In a flash, I gripped her arm, pulling her in front of me rather roughly. Her brown eyes were frightened, her lips shaking in fright as my eyes met hers. I couldn't help myself-my emotions were going for a whirl and all I wanted was some fun. I didn't want to feel, didn't want to do anything but be a freakin' vampire.

Being human sucked.

Being human was overrated.

"You love me. Got it?" I hissed, lifting her up from where I had a hold on her arm. Her mouth convulsed, the words tumbling out unbidden: "You're the love of my life." Her brown eyes were blank now, dreamy even, swimming in the honey of my words. Humans were weak-humans could break, be controlled. "Yes..." I shushed, "and you are now my closest friend. We've been distant pals since kindergarten, exchanging letter and pictures for years…" I stroked her hair with my other hand, capable of keeping her feet off the floor with one arm. "And you will tell no one anything otherwise."

"We're best friends." She sighed-I released her, her pathetic heels withholding her from falling flat on her face. For some reason, I'd forgotten Elena-I glanced up only to find that she was gone, having abandoned the scene altogether. Wouldn't bother me in the least if I'd frightened her-it just would've made my day. But still, I my mind wandered. Why had she left? I wanted to figure out where I'd seen her before and running off like that wasn't helping… Rushing my fingers after imaginary dust, I brushed off my dress, where Adam watched from the corner and Nadia finally reached her feet. I turned to them each, my hair glowing in the sunlight from the glass study door. "How about we all go out and dance, together? Wouldn't want to waste such two beautiful people…" As I strode back into the ballroom, I shivered. Wasn't that almost exactly, what Levi had said to me so long ago? Oh, the irony.

**~How was that? Promise the plot is starting up. If you have endured this long, I love you. Tell all your friends too x3-MsArtemis~**


	8. Chapter 8

_Valerie's dress on her: _./tumblr_l5i156omoM1qbvi6ro1___

**Chapter 8-Ms. Katherine Pierce**

It was maybe a half hour later I found myself causing attention.

Then again, maybe rubbing my body over every inch of skin that Nadia and Adam provided wasn't a good idea either. We stuck mostly to the corners of the mansion, avoiding the mourners as we shared silent kisses and giggles. I'd already gotten several glares from strangers, including one that Nadia recognized and labeled 'Tyler Lockwood-Mayor Lockwood's son'. She'd then launched into a ramble about how awful she felt for them before I'd cut her off with an elegant finger. It was when I'd finally glanced away from the both of them for a breath of air, I caught sight of two figures talking on the white porch. The first, at the left of the open doorway, was Elena-hair straight, in a brown sweater and jeans; had she gone home to change? She appeared more concerned than earlier as well, less cold as she spoke with Damon, who was trying to make an exit. He was dressed in a black button-up (surprise) and blue jeans-I heard Elena softly say something that caused Damon to pause, his sapphire eyes unyielding in the sunlight. He said something softly back, his face-pained?-as he turned and left in the opposite direction.

I was swept up in the drama of the scene when I found myself otherwise distracted by Adam's teeth nibbling that place behind my ear and Nadia chattering off some random facts about people here as she held my hand. "Hey-" I pulled away from Adam and dropped Nadia's hand simultaneously, my green eyes stinging; what the hell? Adam stared down on me, puzzled, and Nadia retreated to his side, her eyes openly hurt. Dashing my eyes to the ground, I experienced a sudden whiplash of heat; it slapped down in my veins, infiltrating every crevice it could find-within seconds I was flaming, alive. Letting out a breath I wasn't aware I'd been holding I found myself warm-feeling everything-I gave an equally confused glance to my two pets, commanding: "Stay here." They flinched and I felt a quick pinprick of guilt before I turned my back on them and went out to look for Damon.

The sunlight hit my body like a tidal wave, emphasizing on the emotions that had suddenly seeped back into me. I felt guilt, incredible guilt, especially where Nadia was concerned-why had I done that to her? What had she ever done to me? I stumbled like a drunken woman, catching sight of Damon's back before he went around the side of the house. "Damon!" I called, making several heads turn.

He came to a stop, his arrogant shoulders stiff in my line of vision. I blinked rapidly as the sun hit my face, automatically raising a hand to block its normally destructive rays. The bracelet with the single dove shaped pendant clinked as it slid down my upraised arm, reminding me of what Damon had done as he addressed me. His words hit me before he turned to face me, his sapphire eyes gleaming with mysterious intent-the pain I had previously assumed was there had disappeared. "Not a good time to chat, Val." He placed a fist in his hand, his family ring appearing on the outer hand as he spoke. His tone made my lips thin and grip together in a smirk-the feeling of my irritation was as painful as sandpaper on skin. "Too bad." I answered in a low voice, delivering a suspicious glance to anyone in range who was staring-they turned away. Meeting his eyes again I noticed the faint smile that lined his face, as if my snarky comment was right up his alley-in his defense, it probably was. Traipsing over to him, I held his gaze, hardly noticing the searing electric feeling that shot up my legs as I came to a halt a few inches away. He peered into my face, hardly skipping a beat as he dropped his hands and murmured: "Aww, were your toys not enough fun?"

A growl rumbled through my ribcage-it wouldn't be a surprise if he'd heard it. "So you've met Adam and Nadia, lovely." I paused, my jade eyes flashing as I crossed my pale arms. "Glad we can all be friends around here." His lazy eyes flicked down my body before greeting my eyes once more.

"Earlier I was reminded that I'm on a certain witch's hit-list and it would not be good if I appeared responsible for you. Be good."

"Oh, stop Damon." The cut-off and complete defiance of his will added a dangerous glimmer to his languid eyes. I continued, dragging my flimsy luck out. "Don't act as if you haven't played that game before. I know someone like me when I see one."

"I wouldn't be so sure." The response was serious but he put it off as a teasing comment, his eyes lazily slipping open and shut like a reptile. I withheld the urge to scoff at his pathetic reply, instead opting to yawn. At the action, he gave me a thin smile and took a step away from me.

"Would love to stay and chat but, surprisingly, I have better things to do than babysit." With that, he took another step before turning away and disappearing around the corner of the house. Curious I found myself following him around the corner -he was headed somewhere, his stride purposeful as he made his way to the back of the Lockwood Mansion. I didn't require permission to follow him, so I did- I caught up behind him rather soundlessly. "I wouldn't follow me if I were you-" he sing-sang, his back still to me-I almost ran into him as he came to a sudden stop. We were now at the back of the house; other than an empty extravagant patio there was miles of sprawling grounds. "I want to see what's going on-where you're going." I sensed rather than saw Damon's muscles stiffen up in anger at my excuse and I quickly scrambled to defend my stalker ways. "There's too much I don't know about you Salvatores; if you're not going to tell me I'll figure it out my-"

His body didn't relax in the slightest and he made no indication he had heard anything; and that's probably when I realized his attention wasn't on me. Silently I caught on, stepping to his right so I could peer around his body and follow his gaze-and there I saw her.

A large, sage colored pond spanned a great deal of the Lockwood's land, reflecting the various wildlife surrounding back several times. It also reflected what lay in Damon's line of vision- by a worn bench was Elena-curls, leather jacket, heels and all- walking and talking with Stefan. I gaped, my mouth popping open and my eyes bugging out of my head as I wordlessly began mouthing things. "I just saw her…two minutes ago, she couldn't have changed…" I lapsed into silence as Damon turned sideways, his profile a raven's wing against the otherwise lively backdrop. I met his eyes purposefully, holding them-there was pain present, pain that I'd seen before-where had I seen this before? Had I dreamt this before? It was somewhere different…-and then it faded to sapphire. The words stuck in my throat seemed to have waited specifically for this moment-they toppled out, falling away and into the chasm between us. "That can't be her."

He nodded, slowly, unsurprised. "That's because she's not." He knowingly searched my face, his mouth tighter than usual, brow furrowed as he observed me processing this bit of information. Suddenly I felt my confusion alter, pirouetting up and into letters, words straight from Stefan's mouth.

_I met a girl named Elena Gilbert today…she is the spitting image of Katherine…some might call them doppelgangers….I could not help but stare at her all day. Damon must not know of her._

I glanced over, catching sight of Damon's gaze for one tenth of a second-and then I was elsewhere.

_The dress was beautiful. Every cell in the girl's body was aching to deny that the pink and white dress was now officially hers-she could not accept such a gift! Neither could she accept the white parasol that came along with it, or the white flower that lay in her hair. This was all too much; she had never experienced such finery in all her life. "I can't-I can't accept this gift, Miss Katherine, it's too fine-"_

_A dark haired woman appeared from behind her, like a shadow-they were so different, girl and woman, though they must have been around the same age. In the mirror, the dress made the girl appear like a dove-something pure and bright like her jade eyes, pale, pale gaping pink lips, and glowing fair skin. She was __me__-the reflection in the mirror was __me__-what the hell…The woman appeared by the girl's side, one slender hand landing on the girls shoulder as the woman met her eyes in the glass. _

_"It's no trouble, Miss Savannah, I assure you." The woman was no dove- she was pure temptation with her rich caramel skin, her plump red mouth and her wicked, deep brown eyes. They were extreme contrasts, opposite ends of the food chain. The girl could not believe she had been given a chest full of clothes in one day. Not only that, but the woman had tamed her curls-crimson red waves were pulled back in a bun, only a few perfect ringlets allowed to trace the cheekbones._

_ The girl, for once, appeared as a lady-tears welled up in her emerald eyes and she finally turned away from the mirror, facing Katherine Pierce, the woman, in all her beauty. "Katherine-how can I ever repay you for making me alive again? For-"_

_Katherine smirked, holding a single gloved finger to her lips. "Shushh. All is well. You will have time to repay me." Savannah, the girl, smiled gratefully, tears burning in her eyes as she shushed yet again by Katherine. Suddenly Katherine's smile grew wider as she whispered: "The fun has arrived." The girl blinked at her companion, puzzled at the change of mood. "Why, whatever do you mean Kat-"_

_There was a knock at the bedroom door. "The Salvatores have arrived Miss Pierce." Katherine's brown eyes sparkled with something that Savannah did not understand. "I must greet my guests." Hurriedly, the woman headed out the door-Savannah followed, slightly confused and suddenly feeling abandoned as she paused in the doorway of the open bedroom. As if sensing the girl's plight, Katherine turned to look at Savannah one last time: "You will be fine up here won't you? A lady must have her time for fun, you know." _

_Savannah blinked, a tear sliding down her cheek as Katherine turned her back, heading down the curved staircase with a grace the girl knew she would never master…_

I swayed on my feet, a crushing pressure beginning in my cranium-I felt myself scream, tears welling up at the pain. I dropped to my knees-my vision swam with Damon's blue eyes, him rushing to me-_"Katherine." _I whispered-and then everything fell into darkness.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9-Things get…Confusing.**

**Earlier-Damon's POV**

_Damn girl._

_Katherine strutted around Stefan, who was trying his best to be the hero , yet again, showing no emotion at her teases. It was in vain-Katherine would screw him over. She always got her way. Bile came up his throat and he gritted his teeth-she was beautiful, even now. Even when she was whoring around with his brother, she was stunning. She'd know pain soon-he'd make sure of it-if only she'd just given him a chance, for she would have seen how much he could have loved her then. _

_She would never want to be with Stefan if they just had one night together-one night would be all it took. And then she'd never want from anyone again, she' be so satisfied from him that'd she would never wander away. Immediately images began to flood his system and he let them come, calling on memories of Katherine in only his shirt, smiling-no Stefan in sight…_

"_That can't be her." His teeth temporarily ground together at the statement-finally, Valerie had gotten a clue. Turning to her, he was prepared to deliver the length and width of his fury-but her face threw him off. She was shining in the sun, emerald cat eyes open, her pink lips inviting… He nodded at the resolution, his voice bordering on hoarse. _

"_That's because she's not." Having just come out of a deep cloud of brooding, which was mostly Stefan's thing anyway, Damon found himself watching her face. It was pale to begin with, but now it literally grayed-what the hell? Her cat eyes froze, locking on something in the horizon. "Shocker, isn't it?" he commented snidely. _

_Valerie didn't respond, her body having turned into a statue, only her fiery hair waving in a sudden breeze that caused Damon to glance up-storm clouds on the horizon, right where Valerie was looking-had she done that? Was their little vampire a witch as well? That would explain some things-despite her carelessness for human life. That only came with being a vamp._

_Meeting her gaze he tried to control the situation. "Valerie." Damon reminded seriously, attempting to bring her back to earth. She held his gaze, no hint of recognition in them-and then she screamed. _

"_No, no , nooo…" he muttered, looking around only to notice Katherine and Stefan throw them a glance from across the pond. They'd been spotted._

_Turning back to Valerie, he saw her swaying, her eyes on his, mouth moving silently- her knees gave out with a sickening crack and she fell to the ground, in a kneeling position. Her eyes remained locked with his, but they glazed with tears-and then they rolled back and up into her head. "Shit-"he murmured, and then he was flying across the short space between them, catching her before she hit the grass. _

_Her body fell lightly on his arm, her dress billowing to accommodate the sudden drop. Her lips moved, unsure as they blew out a name: "Katherine." Katherine? She knew about Katherine-time for someone to wake up. Falling to his knees, he shook her limp form. "Val. Valerie." He was tempted to slap her but if she woke up, she would be more than mad and he did not need that kind of attention. Glancing around him saw that Stefan and Katherine were back at it, their words traveling faster-but other than them there was no one else. With a drawn out sigh he glanced back down, taking in Valerie's wane form. Her wavy hair was finally still, the ends lying on her shoulders regally. _

_Her lips were shut, her eyes closed despite the tears that continued to leak out of them, and her long dark eyelashes fanned out and created shadows on her cheekbones. With a jolt, he realized she wasn't wearing any make-up, just going au-natural. Did she always do that? He couldn't remember a time she had worn makeup. _

_Well it was kind've hard to tell when they were physically at each other's throats more than half the time. As he stared down on her he suddenly had this sucking feeling-not hunger, but something else. It was foreign on him-had he seen her before? Before all this, before he found her in the woods? No…couldn't possibly. _

_Dealing with the problem the best he could, Damon Salvatore swooped her up and into his arms bridal style, walking a few short meters before laying her underneath a bush behind the Lockwood house. Spreading a few branches so that her body couldn't be seen, he suddenly heard the sound of something piercing flesh. _

_Flipping around he caught sight of Katherine speeding off, leaving Stefan with a poker hanging out of his stomach. Crap-he had a lot to do. Damon then sped off back to the party, needing to inform Elena of her love's issue and to retrieve Valerie's loyal pets-and then to undoubtedly find some way into the Councils favor, just like he always did. _

_Warm arms around me, grass brushing my fingers…cursing, a pounding a million times worse than a hangover, Katherine, Katherine, Katherine…._

I awoke to the sound of my name. "Valerie-omigod Adam, you don't think she's dead? I want to call the hospital but he said we can't."

"He said it might be awhile but that we have to wake her up. So we have to keep trying. Val-"

My eyes snapped open and I eyed them both with something bordering distaste. "Adam, Nadia-" I acknowledged, my head ringing like a bitch. Both of them were in the same clothes as of the party, and with a glance down, I saw that I was too. Meeting their anxious eyes I found myself sitting up in order to face them and find out where I was.

Currently I was splayed out on one of the Salvatore's leather couches beside a roaring fireplace, Adam and Nadia standing both by my side. "What the hell happened?" I groaned, swinging my legs to the floor and placing my head in my hands. It throbbed, as if that one movement had been an awful step to take. They glanced at each other before looking at me again-my gaze switched between the two of them rapidly; damn, they were weird. Compelling wasn't all it cracked up to be it seemed.

"You passed out at the party. Damon told us to take you home and make sure you woke up." Adam told me. I groaned aloud, swearing at my luck. If Damon had organized my get well party, who knew what he was up to? Finally Nadia spoke up-obviously the more chatty of the two-asking: "How's my bestie doing?" She gave me a huge smile, her eyes sincere and true-and brown.

In a matter of seconds I was assaulted with too many things to count-I felt guilty because of Nadia, I felt anger that humans were so weak; I felt anger….and irritation…and pure _fury_. From so many things-I suddenly felt disgust for Nadia. She was too tan, too dark haired, too brown eyed-she reminded me of someone from a half-remembered dream…and I hated that person.

My stomach twisting viciously I felt the hardening around my eyes, the veins becoming exposed before them with an epitome of crinkling noises. Their faces grew from concerned to terrified, and Adam turned to run but I filled myself with my power, compelling: "Stay here." Adam froze mid-step and Nadia covered her mouth, frozen and horrified.

"You asked how I was feeling, Nadia?" The painful sharpening of my teeth began, more breaking loose of my gums and reaching down. She nodded-both of them rapt, watching my transformation and shaking. I smiled at her, hatred driving me into a lunge. "I'm feeling hungry."

She didn't have time to scream as I threw my head back, then sank my teeth into her throat with a delicious squelching sound-I enjoyed her trembling as blood ran down my chin.

It had to be hours later when I awoke to the sound of a door slamming. I lay in my room, next to a completely uncovered Adam-he was glorious, by the way.

After feasting on Nadia for a bit, I had decided to lay off-whatever was driving me to eat her wasn't me-and so I let her go, swearing her to secrecy for the second time. I also invited them both upstairs, where I had made Nadia watch me and Adam have furious, un-abandoned sex.

To my amusement, he had been a virgin-but with several hours of practice, I had transformed him to semi-decent, if not amazing lover. It had not been hard, considering he had the body any girl could gape at, but hey, I like to take credit. Half a century of experience does count, you know.

Pushing Adam's arm aside, which had previously been around my waist, I sat up, slipping out of bed. I grabbed a sheet, wrapped it around my body twice, and tip-toed past Nadia (asleep in a chair at the foot of my bed. Yes, I had told her to watch. She was disgusted, which was freakin' hilarious. What can I say, I'm a bitch.)

I had hit the wood of the hallways, sneaking downstairs-I was ready to descend into the living room to explore the mysterious door slamming when I saw who had just gotten home: Damon. Judging by the light of the fire that roared away in the fireplace I saw that he had tears in his eyes-tears? Damon was…feeling? I wasn't the only one. I had been alone in the woods for far too long-now weird things were starting to happen…I mean me, blacking out? I'd only passed out twice in my vampire life now, and both were times when I was in Mystic Falls.

As I received this conclusion, Damon hurled his whiskey glass into the fire-I winced as the flames hungrily shot upward, clinging to the air there. Who the hell had hurt him…?

"Damon…?" Lancing pain shot through my mind at the name and I closed my eyes briefly, pushing the sensation away. When I opened them, he was suddenly right there, in my face. His eyes were flaming, no sign of tears present, and alcohol laced his breath, as he looked me up and down. "Someone had the party without me." His eyes trailed down my body again-I swear they left burn marks-I felt a searing heat everywhere they landed, an undeniable urge to be wearing something decent.

I would be grateful to be wearing anything, really, because right now I was in nothing but a flimsy cotton sheet. "You weren't invited." I breathed-another stab of agony went through my head-I bit down on my lip, my eyes slamming shut. Where had I said that before? Had I said that before, to him?

My eyes fluttered open a second later, having recovered from the pain but not from the question. Had I said that before? It was about another half-second later that I realized he was touching me, his hands safely resting on my shoulders. "No need to pass out again-you'd fall right down the stairs and land on that pretty little head."

"At least I would be rid of you at the bottom." The words were beyond harsh, I knew it-but things were getting confusing, getting different. I didn't want to be anything but a vampire, in the now; the world seemed against me. His eyes met mine and I froze-his gaze read downright homicidal-I had to get out, now. What the hell was I even doing, saying that to a murderously depressed vampire?

His fingers traced the outline of my face, his eyes glinting, the light from the fire casting shifty shadows everywhere I looked. I held his gaze, cursing inwardly. Shit, shit, shit-he was finally going to kill me. "Harsh words coming from someone who has been satisfying themselves all evening." Of course, he would've known of me and my puppets work. Well, to hell with him. I grinned maliciously: "Turns out they weren't completely satisfactory."

I was suddenly aware of how close we were-he had somehow gotten on the same stair as I, making us almost pressed against one another due to lack of space. Fear rose up in me-the last time I had died, I had awoken only to be taken advantage of. Was this the same sitch…reversed? Was Damon going to have his way with me, then throw me down the stairs and stake me to the floor? I attempted to push past him but he pinned my arms down to my sides, my sheet barely holding on.

Another head pain-I winced, struggling to keep my eyes open-an image flickered past my pupil-I was descending a curved staircase-and then I was back, just Valerie, being attacked. "Well maybe I can help-" his eyes were still flaming as he leaned in, pressing his lips to my ear: "satisfying your needs."

It was a rough whisper, a neat whisper, something I would've expected from him ; that didn't stop a feather of heat from slipping down my spine, or make me not shiver. My muscles were steel in his arms-I didn't allow myself to slack off or weaken for one second, and he knew it. His hands tightened on my wrists-I barely felt it. I was feeling too much to experience the pain of his grip.

"How about-" I began, my voice pathetic and shaking as he pulled away to meet my eyes. "you-" His gaze fell away from my eyes, landing on my lips and I hurriedly picked up speed, "don't-" he was closing the distance, and I futilely attempted to push away from him, my mind screaming _Levi, Levi all over again._ When I suddenly felt this overpowering force in my head-my eyes slammed shut and he paused, an inch away from my mouth-I felt my name ghost his lips, the breath of it wafting onto mine:

"Valerie?" And then I was no longer in the Salvatore home, listening to my scream dance among the rafters-I was somewhere else entirely.

"_Miss Vielle, I would like the honor of presenting you with my boys-the Salvatore boys." _

_Katherine Pierce stood at the base of the staircase, her dark hair down, her waves untamed in a crimson red hoop-skirt dress. Her eyes were alit with an emotion Savannah didn't understand-but with an encouraging smile added in, lended Savannah the courage to descend the curved staircase. _

_Lifting up her skirts as she was taught, the red-head descended the stairs one at a time, her heeled boots a challenge to be conquered. She hated them but Katherine had insisted, saying that real ladies wore them and that they were a necessity. One hand unsteadily holding up her skirts, the other caressing the mahogany banister, she descended, face forward as etiquette demanded it. _

_The two boys, no, men, each stood guard by Katherine, their smiles charming and non-chalant as they took in the sight of Savannah in her periwinkle dress. Ivy designs a shade darker than the periwinkle graced her bodice-the bodice led to her waist, where it cinched tightly over a corset and petticoats. She was remarkable-the color matched her skin tone, the ruby ringlets that abound her shoulders bringing out the emerald in her eyes and the shadows of her collarbone. _

_Finally reaching the floor, she curtsied at the boys, peering up at them from underneath her eyelashes. Katherine grinned at her friends, waving a hand between Stefan and Savannah. "Stefan-Savannah Vielle." Savannah, heart pounding as hard as possible against her ribcage, offered her hand-Stefan accepted it, kissing the top of her hand politely. Resisting the urge to giggle like a foolish school girl Savannah nodded, bravely addressing him. "Mr. Salvatore." _

"_Ms. Vielle." Stefan nodded warmly, meeting her eyes in a friendly manner as Savannah returned his grin. Katherine practically burst into pieces at the exchange, although she kept her face controlled. Stepping to the side Savannah braced herself for the other brother, glancing up from shyly, her eyelashes creating shadows on her cheekbones. "Damon-Savannah Vielle." _

_Katherine introduced, moving her hand from Damon to Savannah, indicating their meeting-Savannah, in a rush of courage, met his eyes, which in heels, made them face to face. Eyes like summer sky met hers-she resisted the urge to breathe, her heart slamming full force against her ribcage as his aristocratic features curved into a soft smile. _

_Recalling her place, Savannah held out her hand, throwing her eyes to the floor-Damon, unsurprised by the girl's shyness, took extra care as he lifted her hand to his lips. Pausing before his mouth touched her hand, he bent down, attempting to meet her eyes subtly. Driven by something she did not yet understand, Savannah raised her eyes to his-sapphire met emerald with a tingle of electricity. Holding eye contact he hovered over her hand, breathing: "Ms. Vielle," before his lips met the lily-white skin of her hand._

I opened my eyes-Damon was less than an inch away from my face, panting as if he'd run a marathon and staring with wide, glazed eyes. Wincing at the pain that made my head feel as if it had been axed in half, I held Damon's gaze. He had me pinned to the wall, holding me up from falling as well as keeping my sheet intact. His fingers gripped my wrists so tight I was sure they had broken already-and that's when he demanded: "What did you say?"

Drunk, scotch on his breath he wavered dangerously-but his eyes were clearer now, fixed on my face. Suddenly, I recalled what I had just seen and a felt bone-chilling fear. What was wrong with me-what _was_ I even? "Get away from me." I whispered, my voice raspy as my head pounded. He laughed bitterly, his fingers biting into the flesh on my wrists. "It doesn't work that way Ariel-tell the truth or I'll do something I'll regret." I grit my teeth, trying to kick him through the sheet-we were close enough but my kicks bounced off him like nothing.

"Haven't you done enough things you regret tonight?" Damon and I both turned to look at the newcomer-Stefan stared up at us, frozen in surprise and fury. "Let her go, Damon." Damon hissed, shoving my wrists away, snarling out: "Way to ruin the moment, Stefan. We were just getting to the _good _part."

Stefan ignored Damon's last comment, turning to me, barely clothed, shaking and looking like a wounded animal, and informed me: "Valerie, I think you should stay somewhere else tonight. It's not safe here."

I couldn't help but agree with him as I ran upstairs, my movements blurred as I grabbed some clothes and awoke Adam and Nadia. "Got to go." I murmured-and then we were off, somewhere away from the Salvatore home…but never far away enough from the vision._"Ms. Vielle…" Damon whispered-_

It was going to be a long night.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10-Stalker**

He knew her intent.

It was clear as day…she wanted to find him.

She would never find him, as far as that was concerned- he was the better hunter.

He would have thought half a century would have made her possibly even more mild-mannered, maybe smarter.

But of course not-she turned into a harpy, cursing his name whenever possible and traipsing about wherever she pleased.

He got a laugh out of that.

He also enjoyed seeing her join the Salvatore's-she was setting herself up, wrapping herself up like a present-

And he couldn't wait

Till

Christmas morning

Came.

His cellphone started ringing-the blasted beeps drove him near insane; the technological age was never to his taste. He answered it.

"Yes. She is here-I won't."

Then he hangs up, watching, waiting-when he sees her driving Stefan Salvatore's red buggy to the motel-and he feels elated. The hunt begins.

Time to watch.

Quickly, silently, he gets back into the car, starting the engine. He had to leave- for it isn't

Christmas

Yet.

**~Hmm, who could that be? Any ideas? Reviews are love.-MsArtemis~**


	11. Chapter 11

**~Occurs during TVD Season 2x02. Enjoy! Tell me what you think! Review, _por favor._-MsArtemis~**

**Chapter 11-The Carnival**

The next day, I went to school.

Not that I enjoyed school, or that there was something there for me, but there wasn't many options, honestly. Today I had gone for the Katherine look-I had curled my hair in ringlets and I wore a delicious burgundy sweater dress that had v-neck and ended mid-thigh. Paired with that was a black leather jacket, black leggings, and of course, my bracelet.

The vision, or hallucination as I liked to call it, on the Salvatore's staircase the night before, freaked me out. I didn't believe that it was legit-I just assumed it was a hangover long overdue, or something to that effect. Its affects on me, however, were very real-for the past 24 hours I'd been unable to switch off my feelings.

And that? That was as scary as hell.

"Valerie?"

I turned at the sound of Elena's voice, slightly frightened (though I dare not show it) to see her at a locker, with Stefan by her side. Her wide brown eyes searched my still face, my blank green eyes, before asking: "Is everything alright? Stefan told me about how he found you….last night…"

I interrupted, putting one hand up while balancing some books on the other arm. "No mentioning the 'D' word. " Elena grinned at that, grabbing Stefan's arm and hugging him to her wearily. "That's what I told Stefan-right, Stefan?" Stefan grinned warmly, nodding. "No 'D' word and most defiantly no 'V' word." He whispered back-I couldn't help but intrude, curious. "The 'V' word?"

"Vampire." Elena admitted, her arm slipping down so that Stefan's hand became casually intertwined with hers. "I want today to be as normal a day as possible." She was being completely serious and looked as worn out as I'd ever seen a person, so I tried not to smile at that despite the humor I found in the statement. I was a vampire-Stefan was as well, so how did you not mention those sort of things?

"Sooo-" Elena met Stefan's eyes before glancing back at me with a sigh, "we're setting up the Carnival today. The goal for today is: have _normal_, _teenage_ fun. " I nodded, chirping: "Sounds good." While wondering how I was going to walk out of this conversation. Elena met my eyes meaningfully, trying to communicate some message. "You can come too, Valerie-" I blinked at that, staring at Stefan ,dumbfounded. He was inviting me? "Because it sounds like you had…a rough night." He added, holding my gaze painfully. Yeah, no doubt-he probably thought Damon had tried to rape me.

"You can help set up, today, if you want. Me and Bonnie are doing it and I'm sure no one else would mind extra help." She shrugged, smiling softly up at me as I was taller than her. "It's a good, _normal_, human thing to do. " I returned her gaze with ice, as I usually did, only to feel warmth.

Gratefulness for her offer rushed through me, violet in color-it tasted like wasted tears and hugs-my eyes glowed as I shyly smiled back. "Thank you, Elena." I told her, my voice strong and clear. "I'll help out with the carnival." The bell brought us back to earth-Elena kissed Stefan goodbye while I stood awkwardly to the side, the third wheel; eventually she turned to me, indicating I should follow her.

"Do you mind cleaning the mirror houses? Because Bonnie's scared of them…"

* * *

><p>This was the longest, and probably most human thing, I'd done in literally 45 years. I had scrubbed the floor of the bathrooms out back, checked all the carnival machinery at least six times each, and refilled the popcorn machine about a hundred million times.<p>

In the back of my mind, I knew I was in some state of shock. I was tame, normal even. My cravings were hardly a problem, and as the hours dwindled by and more people came, I found that they didn't even bother me. I hardly spoke my mind all day and kept drinking any coffee I could get my hands on, keeping my mind sharp and crystal-I didn't need any hangover-esque episodes. Elena continued to order me about, sending Bonnie and I on several errands together in an obvious attempt for us to 'bond'. Nothing of that sort even occurred-at one point, we were both picking up trash from around the base of the Ferris wheel before any guests came in, when she spoke to me.

Standing up straight she stuffed a can into a billowy, black trash bag-I followed suit, attempting to get rid of the trash in my hands when she 'accidently' ran into me. Letting out a gasp she glanced up, meeting my gaze-I stared wordlessly back, not knowing what to make of this development. "You're a vampire." Bonnie stated bluntly, the words a whip upon the already frothing tension. "Elena told me about you." I wrinkled my nose at her face-so cold- before attempting to chill my veins and be…me. "Yeah, I am. What's it to you?" My voice was chilly as I stood, brushing dirt off my black leggings. I met her eyes again when I was at my full height-she was shorter than I by several inches and I resisted the urge to laugh.

She glared up at me, unafraid-her brown eyes were clear, shining, her hair a shade of ebony I knew…her features suddenly began swimming before my eyes and I shook my head, biting my tongue as I fought off the feeling. No visions, no hallucinations-not today, not ever again. As everything began coming back, I became aware of what she was saying: "You haven't done anything yet, so I'll spare you. But just so you know-if you do anything, and I mean _anything _that hurts a human-you'll regret it." Finally, I could see her face again-she stared up at me suspiciously, waiting for an answer. "No problem." My head was pounding-"I'm not hungry today."

"You better not be." She threatened-I nodded pathetically, reduced to praying for my migraine to end in silence. Then we went back to Elena, ready to work for the rest of the afternoon.

Now, however, it was finally dark. Tons upon tons of humans thronged the place, noise dominating all my senses. I had been practically swimming in black coffee for the past hour and a half, but I soon realized it was proving ineffective. My hunger roared away like a tiger in a cage, burning, ever burning. I quickly headed somewhere quieter, my heels click clacking on the cement sidewalk until I walked into the school.

I happened upon some packed room, full of a cheering, mostly male body-my mouth was watering at the opportunities but since they were not as big as the crowds outside, I found it quite easy to say no. Inquisitive, I attempted to creep up and see what was going on at the front-but I didn't get to sneak up there. As soon as my body rubbed against another boy's in the crowd, they forgot about their yelling, watching me with glazed eyes as I made my way to the front. By the time I could see what was going on, I had the dudes next to me daring to peer down the V-neck of my sweater dress.

I sighed aloud, weary of the attention-didn't they have anything better to do? Fortunately, my attention was stolen by an extremely attractive male; whom, currently, was arm-wrestling with the 'Tyler Lockwood' who had glared at me when I was at the wake.

Standing behind the man I crossed my arms, leaning back on my heels-a smile grew across my face as I checked out his ass. Bad day or not I would damn well enjoy the view when I could. He had on a blue t-shirt that stretched over his taunt back, a casual grey sweatshirt thrown over his shoulder and dark jeans that told me all I needed to know; he had brown curls, my kink, so he was pretty much an A+ in my book already.

With a self-satisfied grunt he slammed down Tyler's fist like it was nothing, only after barely a second of struggle. I raised one eyebrow, my grin turning downright sly. _Hot damn. _Suddenly, from the back of a crowd, I heard a familiar voice.

"Uhmm-Hey, Stefan wants to go." I shouldn't have looked, but I did-and there was Damon and Stefan, in the shadows. "Yeah-"Swaggering forward Stefan came up to the table, offering his arm. "Sure, sure-I'll give it a shot."

My mouth turned into a straight line as I glowered at Damon, suddenly hating him-who was he to just come to the carnival and act like nothing had happened? He had to know I was here. As if in response to that statement he glanced over, meeting my gaze and wiggling his eyebrows before turning back to watch the fight, yelling: "Get 'em, Stef." Stefan ignored Damon-"My brother thinks I can beat you." He informed hottie and/or arm wrestling champion extraordinaire. "Well, your brother's wrong." Murmured . I almost swooned at his voice-it was deep, strong, and confident-sure. _Very, very, attractive._ The ring's bell rang, and Stefan and McHottie went at it; for a few seconds they grappled, peering into each other's eyes as if trying to weaken the opponent with the other's gaze.

After a moment Stefan let out a huff, his arm being slammed down by the delicious stranger easily. The stranger didn't apologize and Stefan didn't stay behind, straightening up and returning to Damon at the back of the room. I watched both of them at an almost obnoxious level; I was practically stalking, I knew it-but I had to know what was going on. Damon appeared disappointed, his lips thin as he got up in Stefan's face. I tuned in easily, turning up the volume as Damon told Stefan: "You didn't put in _any_ effort at all."

"Yeah, actually, I did." Stefan's back was to me but I could catch Damon's switch in expression; he was hopeful. "Come with me." Damon demanded-and then just like that, walked off. Stefan took a glance behind him-I looked down, avoiding his sweeping gaze-I didn't look up until I heard his footsteps retreating down the alleyway after his brother.

I was very curious-what made this guy so interesting? Before I could even begin to walk after the Salvatores I found myself running into another person-literally. "Woah, there-" To my surprise the bump threw me off kilter and I wobbled before two hands on my shoulders stopped me. I glanced up into a face of tan skin, yellow-green eyes and curls-Mystery super-strong man. To my delight, he was staring at me as much as I was gaping at him, and I grinned. "Hi." I whispered.

"Hey." He dropped his hands, stepping away from me. He was tall-really tall. He stood about a head above me, which was cool. Didn't find many people taller than my 5'8. "The name's Mason."

"Valerie." I gave him my hand and he shook it, enveloping it with his warm own.

"You want to take a walk?" he asked. I nodded, my smile turning cattish-he caught the smile, winking at me as he grabbed my hand, pulling me out the back door.

Mason Lockwood was Tyler's Uncle-we had both been at the wake but hadn't seen each other. We liked the same music (Beatles, Grateful Dead, etc.) even though his tastes dabbled a little bit more in rock, which I didn't mind. We walked around the school once, asking each other multiple questions- when it came to families I stuck with the story I'd given all my teachers- and everytime he turned away from me and his profile got lit up by the moon-a chill went down my spine.

His curls reminded me of someone….I would have to turn away before dizziness overtook me, being calm as another question of his came my way. Eventually we came on the subject of music, and then original CDs and such. He told me that he had an original _Styx_ record on hand, and that he even had a picture of it on his phone.

"Mr. Lockwood-" I crooned, looking up at him, "you are quite a liar."

"I am not!" He laughed loudly and I relished the sound, crossing my arms behind my back with a squeak from my leather jacket. "I'll go get the picture-that is, if you need proof, Ms. Salvatore."

I grinned at the fake name before exclaiming: "Go get it!" He smiled, laughing again before turning to leave. "I'll be right back." He promised-and then he was off, jogging to the parking lot and his car.

Watching him jog off I stumbled back, my hand reaching up to tangle in my hair as my head reeled. Had that really just happened? Had I talked to a human, flirted, have them flirt back all without compulsion? It was a new world to me. Dizzy because of his curls and of the multiple coffees throughout the evening I headed towards the Ferris wheel, where I planned to find Elena and…and what?

Tell her about Mason? We weren't friends-I didn't have friends. I froze in my tracks, the thoughts frosting over my heart. _I didn't have any friends. I was a toy to everyone-always had been. _Overwhelmed by the truths I kept finding within myself and the emotions they came with, I began walking faster, headed to God knows where, when I saw her.

A pretty blonde girl sat on top of a truck bed, her head bowed as she cried bitter tears. Next to her was a man, lying still on the wood of the truck…I could smell the blood from here. To her right was-you guessed it-Damon Salvatore. He stood by her, one hand out near her own in a comforting gesture as the moonlight spilled over him.

I eyed him, suspicious-he was all in black but I could still see the height of his cheekbones, the slight shadow that ran across his jaw, the way his ocean eyes gleamed…"Hey, hey-" He began rubbing her back with that hand-"Hey, it's okay." He cooed, "I can help you."

The hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up at that-I stepped forward, a breeze suddenly swooping in and stirring my hair as well as steal away my words: "Don't listen to him, really-" She didn't hear me. "You can?" She met his eyes-there was blood all over her face-_oh, shit. A newbie._

"Yeah…I have to." I saw her bend her head back down at his response, her breathing quickening.

"What are you going to do to me?"

"The only thing I can do." He reached out, brushing a sheet of her hair aside…just like Levi. _No._ This girl would not go through what I had gone through, not while I was here-she was not going to do anything she didn't want to. He peered into her face, his fingertips holding back her light waves and said: "I'm going to kill you." _No. I was going to kill him, I really would. She didn't want to die, like I hadn't wanted to change… _In his other hand was a stake-she saw it and in a flash, she was on the ground, standing in front of him, pleading.

"No, please don't-I don't want to die!"

"Yeah, but you're already dead."

"No.I'm not. Don't say that, just help me! Okay?"

"Okay, okay…" The arm with the stake was coming around her back-suddenly everything brightened, the colors popping out in front of my face more than my normal vampire sight. I was freaking out, _me_-I was experiencing some kind of nightmarish flashback and I couldn't even save her…I had to.

She was still begging when he hugged her, raising the stake-everything slowed down. I could hear Stefan approaching, him whispering _'No-'_ as the stake began its descent-and then I was there. Snatching the stake away, I threw it across the grass, putting my hands flat out on Damon's chest and shoving.

Stefan suddenly flew to my side, guarding the blonde girl's right while I had her left. "Valerie…Stefan!" He groaned, recovering from the slight stumble my assault had left him with, his face full of the defeat one gets from losing a game.

That's how upset he was-as if he'd lost ten dollars in poker-something deep inside me crackled. All of a sudden, the blonde girl was screaming at Elena (I could smell her.) who happened to be right behind me-but I was focused on Damon-I was not willing to let him get away.

"Who the hell do you think you are." I growled, glaring at him with all the hate I could muster. He met my gaze for half a second, narrowing his eyes at me coyly, as if he wasn't threatened by me in the least. "Stefan-we need to get her inside." Elena's voice seemed far away to my ears, as if she was speaking from within a tunnel. Stefan warily backed away, muttering "Sorry Caroline, come with me."

"I've got this." I told Stefan, looking away from his retreating form and back to his older brother. Damon peered into my face, his eyes solid with reassured belief. "She will die-" his eyes half-closed, his arms crossed, "it's only a matter of time." The leisure in which he said it alone-I began to see red. "Yeah? Maybe so, but it's not gonna happen tonight." Stefan answered, still trying to get the blonde away, while I stuck with a loud: "No." Damon raised his eyebrows, his eyes flickering like a maniac at the challenge.

"Oh yeah it is." It only took him a half second to snatch the up the stake, to fly to the blonde-it took me a millisecond to step in front of her, shielding her with my body-suddenly, we were too close. The stake was less than an inch away from my heart, which lay beneath the low v-neck in which my breasts now heaved.

Every little breath I took brought it closer to the tip-closer to my death-Damon and I were thrust face to face, body to body-a few strands of his raven-black hair lay across his forehead in a careless manner, bringing out the sapphire in his eyes. His black shirt was unbuttoned a few buttons, exposing the pale skin of his lean, muscular body which lay dangerously near-I could feel the heat coming off him in waves, lapping against my exposed skin. The sight of him summoned up the migraine-a sharp, splitting pain almost rendered me unconscious had it not been for the girl I was protecting.

"She's my friend." I lied, gasping-I couldn't even breathe and I was gasping. The effect this man had on me was unnatural, _wrong_.

He stared at me for one more moment before pulling the stake to his side, waving his hands at me- "Whatever happens," he warned, eyes flickering with an unknown emotion, "it's on you." Keeping his eyes on me so that his threat was fully delivered he began to back away, eventually disappearing into the welcoming embrace of the night.

I stumbled backward now that he was gone, turning to my audience. Elena stood behind me, mouth open in shock-the blonde was whimpering, trying not to look at anyone as Stefan came to her side. Suddenly Bonnie appeared-

"Caroline?...oh, no."

She figured out the truth within minutes-Stefan decided that as Bonnie's shock set in he should go and take care of the blonde, Caroline, so they left. "I can't believe this is happening…" murmured Bonnie. "My feelings exactly." I whispered, glancing at the ground. Elena glanced between Bonnie and I, unsure of what to do-and that is when Damon decided to show up.

I didn't warn him as he kept pushing Bonnie's buttons-hadn't he heard her threats before? He would have had too, if she had warned me. And then, out of thin air, he began yelling as he fell to his knees-the hose nearby flipped out, snaking across the ground so that water made a trail to Damon, staining his black pants darker…

"What the hell?" I whispered-I glanced over at Bonnie-her head raised pretentiously as she stared down at Damon, her heart rate increasing in a speed and power that sounded like some fast-paced death march.

"Bonnie, what are you doing…" Elena murmured. Then, without warning, the water turned into fire-within seconds I was looking down on a screaming Damon, flames crawling up his legs and eating him alive. Things began to happen faster then-I only remember one thing for sure. My voice, in my head, whispering: _" Not Damon." _

Everything else was blurred-I heard Elena call out: "No!" to Bonnie, but I was faster- I was shaking the little thing by the shoulders-"Why did you stop me?" the light in her eyes faded and she glared at me, furious. It was like I was there-and then I wasn't.

"No-" I whispered, "this isn't us." Bonnie's gaze grew confused as my hands gripped her shoulders tighter.

"_Emily_…this can't be us." I whispered, my voice low as everything began fading out, one by one. Colors leaked out of the picture, sounds fell dead upon the grass-the only thing that remained was moonlight, and sound, dangerously subdued-there was no longer any flames crackling.

The witch's (witch…how did I know that?) face finally fell into despair, her eyes welling up with tears-my deed done I gave her a weak push, muttering: "Elena, take care of her…"

Then, without fail, I fell onto the ground, the feeling of my stomach dropping the only warning I had before I was plunged into darkness.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12-Getting to Know Valerie Pt. I**

_I woke up on grass. Flashing to my feet I looked around-I froze-in front of me was a giant, white mansion. The sky behind the mansion lit up-I could not hear the lightening but I felt its vibrations across the land, the biting breeze that blew past me. The front door was open…with a creak it opened wide, swinging aside and slamming into the wall opposite. The inside was all shadows-I found myself searching for someone, something-suddenly, Damon was beside me. He was in all black, his hair floppy and glossed-he turned to me, arms at his sides and hands in fists. "Did you think you could forget us?" His voice carried eerily across the moor we were on, lost among the wind and silent lightening. _

_I glanced back at the open doorway-my curiosity was overpowering-suddenly I became aware of my heartbeat. I had a heartbeat-it thundered away, its beat becoming background music to the creepy setting. My eyes grappled with the shadows inside the doorway-I had to find someone, I was looking for someone. They were waiting for me…I had to meet them, here…_

_I took one step, planning to ascend the stairs and enter the inside, when I felt someone grab my arm. I turned around-and there was Damon again, but young. His curls were ebony, his summer sky eyes wide as he gaped at me in a white blouse and tan trousers. "Don't go, Valerie." He whispered-I tried to pull my arm away from his grip-I was successful. I tried to run away-but I only fell flat on my face having tripped over a skirt...now on the ground, I looked down only to find myself bedecked in an old strawberry and cream dress. _

_What the….I glanced up at the doorway, reaching out with one arm as if begging the shadows to spill their secrets…and then I saw a pair of brown almond-shaped eyes flicker from inside the pool of dark. _

"_Oh, Savannah…always attempting to be a lady." _

_It was Elena's voice-oh, God-my heart went fast, screaming away in my veins. The wind began roaring, spitting out its rage and drowning out my heartbeat. I peered into the dark-I saw a plump, crimson mouth curve upward in a delicious smile. "…always trying to be a lady…" she cooed-and then the ground beneath me caved in and I fell downward, losing everything to the vicious wind and my persistent, should not exist, heart-beat. _

"Shi-" I sat up quickly, fully awake and fully _not in my room_. For some futile reason I had vainly hoped I'd awake in my room-to my luck, I hadn't. I was in a queen sized white four-poster bed; the sheets had surrounded my form in slumber now lay thrashed around me. I looked up-a classy bathroom was right across from the bed, full of smoky grey tile and white porcelain.

Swiveling my head to the left, I witnessed a mahogany bedside table upon which a worn novel lay, flipped upside down so that only its faded moss back was visible. Taking in a deep breath through my nose, I paused-I knew where I was. Only one person's scent was that wonderful; I closed my eyes, enjoying the effect musk, silk, and raw cedar wood had on me…for this was Damon's room.

"Morning, Sunshine." The voice jerked me to my feet. "Damon." I breathed-he stood across the room, leaning against the side of the doorway. He wore his usual black ensemble-black T-shirt, jeans, and boots. His eyes glittered, full of withheld commentary and secrets, his crossed arms rippling with muscles as he watched me come to my senses. "Why am I here?" I murmured, my hand running to my hair, which was damp and I think even had some mud in it.

Dragging out a dirt clump I let it plummet to the wood beneath my bare feet-Damon spoke while watching its fall, making a face as it splattered across the floor before meeting my eyes once more.

"Carnival last night…? You heroically stepped in front of Blondie and saved the day? Stefan couldn't be more proud…"

All my muscles went on lockdown until he met my eyes-and then I let out an "Oh."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "How long have you and Blondie been friends?" His eyes were penetrating; as fast as I could I looked down at the floor-I caught sight of my bare feet. "Where are my shoes?" My voice rose to an unreasonable pitch-but hey, as I said, I enjoyed shopping as a human.

"Don't avoid the question, Val-"

"I'm not! Would you stop calling me that-"

"I moved them." He shrugged. "They were covered in all sorts of _nasty_ things." I ignored the innuendo and continued: ".Where."

"As soon as you answer the question, Ariel."

I leaned on one leg, finally meeting his eyes as I felt safer now that I knew my sweater dress and leggings were still intact. "We aren't friends. Okay? I lied to save her ass. Sue me."

Instead of his face morphing into the victorious smirk I had been expecting, I saw it grow somber-at least by a little degree. "I was going to kill her. How'd you know what would stop me?" Deep in his eyes something swam-vulnerability? I leapt at the chance to answer a question I knew the answer to.

"I didn't know. I just…had to save her."

"And why is that, Ms. Rabbit? Why-"

"Wait-" I raised one hand in the air, mouth open and eyebrows scrunched in disbelief. "_Ms. Rabbit_?"

"Yes, as in Jessica Rabbit. I'm sure you've seen a cartoon or two."

"Yes, but what makes-"

"Whyyy-" He purposefully drew out the question word, cutting me off completely. "Did you call Bonnie, Emily?"

I froze, my hands turning into fists-my nails bit into the skin of my palm as I raced for an answer. "I didn't say that." I held his gaze, trying to put on my normal poker face-but of course, sharp pinpricks of guilt made this impossible.

Now he was smiling, sitting up into a straighter position. "Oh, yes you did. They may not have heard you, but-" he tapped his head with one finger, "vampire, remember? I heard it. Now I want to know why."

I bit my lip-he eyed my mouth at the action and I blew out an: "I don't know."

His eyes left my mouth, meeting my gaze: "Don't make this harder than it needs to be."

The hidden threat had me reeling-suddenly I wasn't sure what was real or not anymore. The feeling was due to my recently failing sanity- and I didn't mind it one bit-it was as if I was in a fog all the time now, as if everything I could touch would break and fall out beneath me; it was a beautiful sensation.

A dangerous, sensual, shouldn't be touched with a ten-foot pole feeling that had me wrapped around its finger-I really had no choice.

The lack of free will, of control…it did not frighten me. Then again, usually, not much did. _Ms. Vielle…_I suppose it was that voice, the young Damon, in my head, that told me what to do next.

Stepping forward on my tiptoes I glanced up at him from underneath my eyelashes, fluttering them a little. "Why, Mr. Salvatore…" I took another step forward, my sweater dress surging with the movement so that it slipped forward, plunging farther so that I owned ultimate cleavage.

He froze, the dangerous light in his eyes fading away bit by bit-I continued to watch him, sliding my lower lip under my teeth. His eyes traced the movement, his eyelashes shivering in confusion…I crossed over to his bedside table, reaching down with one finger so that I could stroke the binding of the fragile book that lay there. With one invisible wrist movement, I flipped the book over, revealing the title in a large, black, gothic print. "Gone with the Wind…" I read aloud. _Ms. Vielle… _the memory of that voice was pushing me in this direction, dragging me through this conversation.

"Didn't take you as a fan of the classics." I murmured-I attempted to turn but with a flying of dust motes, Damon stood in front of me. "On the stairs the other day-when you wore the sheet-you said something."

I raised an eyebrow: "Oh?"

He tilted his head, studying me with rampid eyes-what was he attempting to find?

"You looked straight at me and shyly said 'Mr. Salvatore'." I blinked at him, my mind blank-I recalled the vision clearly enough-what I didn't remember was this.

"You offered me your hand." He said louder, almost in a dreamy tone. "I didn't accept but you acted as if I had…you even tried to curtsey, but there was no room on the stairs, obviously." I stared at him, at a loss for words. Taking me by the shoulders he bent down a little, making our eyes officially the closest they'd probably ever been.

"Don't tell me you don't remember."

"Well, I don't-"

He shook me a little, dropping his hands almost just as fast, as if I'd stung him. "Then why did you say_ Katherine_?" This was news to me as well-I frowned. "I did…?"

"At the wake, when you dropped-before it was lights out you said 'Katherine'."

My lips moved numbly-suddenly my 'accept this freaky mind breaking down' high dissipated, leaving me with what I was-a broken and fearful vampire, barely holding it together.

"You must have heard wrong…I…I-"

"Don't lie to me-" he growled, his blue eyes turning dark.

I took a step back-"I'm not, Damon! I don't know what the hell you're talking about…"

He glared, his lips pulling back and away from his teeth in a grimace. "I won't hesitate to kill you again-"

"Damon!" My exclamation was so loud I'm sure every vampire within six miles could hear it-he stopped.

"I don't know Katherine-" I began, holding up a hand so that he'd hold off his tirade, "And I'm not her." His face froze at the statement and I took that as a good thing, so I moved on. "I've read Stefan's most recent journals-about how he described her, about how she's everything Elena isn't…blablabla. And I'm not her. I'm not either of them. I'd never even heard or seen them until I was kidnapped by _you-_so why do you think I keep lying?" I paused, the Salvatore mansion completely still around me. "I'm not either of them-so I won't lie, and I won't attempt to lock you up. Got it?"

I raised both my eyebrows at him, my eyes begging him to agree-I wouldn't know what to do if he didn't. He refrained from speaking, so still he almost appeared as a statue to the human eye.

"And also-" I stepped away from the bedside table, pulling at my dress until the v-neck was at an acceptable level before meeting his eyes, "while we're at it-don't bring me into your room unless I'm alive enough to give you permission, agreed?"

He remained as dead a tomb for a second longer so I added, "I saved your life yesterday. You at least owe me that much." Speech done I leaned back on one leg, crossing my arms up and under my chest in a comfortable position. He stared at me, his mouth opening as if he wanted to spit out another snarky comment when a recorded telephone ring sounded off. Ripping into his jean pocket he pulled it out, took one glance at the screen, then tossed it to me.

I caught it easily, flipping it up so I could read the screen as he said: "Stefan told me you needed a phone. I already put in all the numbers you need." I opened my mouth to say something but when I looked up, he was gone. Sighing loudly I glanced at the number-it wasn't listed as a contact but I answered it anyway, holding it hesitantly up to my ear.

"Hellooo..?"

"Ms. Salvatore?"

"Mason!" A smile grew on my face-my other hand flew to my hair, where I twirled a string of red absentmindedly. "How'd you get this-"

"I told Tyler to get my number to the Salvatores. I think he texted it to Caroline Forbes who sent it to Damon but…here we are."

"Wow." I exhaled. "What did you want my number for?"

"Well I was wondering if you'd meet me at the Grill. Say around 7…?"

I blinked, my smile widening. "Yeah, sounds great Mr. Lockwood." I winked despite the fact he couldn't see me and lowered my voice, whispering, "I'll make sure to dress up."

He laughed, a deep, crackly sound over the line. "I like that. Alright, see ya then?"

"Yeah. Until then."

He hung up first but I had to pull away and search for the end button on my brand new Palm Pixi Plus.

A few minutes later, excited, I headed to my room to start planning an outfit for later when Damon called up the stairs: "Oh, by the way-me and Stefan are planning to discuss your back-story at six. Get ready for your date before then. I'm sure Stefan will want to know _everything_."

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head at the non-present Salvatore brother-of course, he would have heard my phone conversation. As he'd said it earlier…'I heard it…vampire, remember?'

Sighing I began to sort through my recently purchased wardrobe only to be stopped by my phone's incessant buzzing. Picking it up I saw the name: "Damon" with a picture of an envelope opening and closing. I opened it to read:

_I agree to all terms._

_They're under your bed._

* * *

><p>"Stefannn, Val's here."<p>

I shot Damon a glare but he only glanced up at me, a slight glaze over his eyes. I checked his hand-sure enough there was a glass of scotch-I figured he was drunk so I looked away from him quickly. I really don't think he could help calling me 'Val'. Stefan entered the room, in a long sleeved grey shirt and jeans, his green eyes sparkling with something like concern. Then again, none of Damon's interactions with me had been completely pleasant; maybe he had reason to worry. Pausing at the head of the two couches Stefan assessed me, giving me a smile as he said: "You look nice."

"Why thank you." I whispered back, fluttering my eyelashes at him before giggling-I heard Damon swig loudly. Stefan laughed awkwardly, walking over to the other couch and plopping down in it; I was left standing in between the two Salvatores in my black dress-it ended about mid thigh and rose to my collarbone, the scooped neckline tinged with black lace. It shimmered in the firelight, as did my wavy hair, which I left down and natural, as usual. "Alright-" I murmured, turning to Stefan and affixing him with my green stare. "What do you need to know?"

"Have you ever known Katherine Pierce, at any time, before this?"

"No."

"Liar." I heard Damon mutter under his breath-Stefan shot him a look to which Damon groggily replied "I know what I heard…"

Stefan faced me again. "When were you here in Mystic Falls last?"

"Easy. 1970." I heard Damon lean forward, and Stefan raised his eyebrows. "1970?" he repeated.

"I was a hippie." I admitted, throwing my gaze to the ground. "Stupid. In love. You know how being young is." I paused, not waiting for acknowledgment before moving on, my eyes tracing carpet.

"I was raised by Steve and Ally Grey." I gulped, images of my mousey haired, thin, parents wavering before my eyes. "I hated them." I hissed. "They never let me do anything. They didn't _believe_ in anything. So they didn't get my love." I heard both boys shift uncomfortably so I swallowed, hard.

"When I was 19 my boyfriend was Levi Sommers." There was some emotion sinking into the floorboards-tension? Or was it they knew something now that I didn't? "He was great." I paused, combing a piece of hair behind my ear and letting out a sarcastic scoff. Stefan, arms on his knees, met my eyes sympathetically.

"You don't have to tell us-"

"It's fine." Another, stupid awkward pause from me-I began counting how many red spots there were in the carpet. "He was outgoing, charming-and manipulative. Levi got what he wanted. I didn't see that. Well, what compelled person does." My head jerked up quickly, meeting Stefan's eyes: "Your Katherine? She was a lot like Levi." Stefan's mouth tightened-I looked back down.

"Well one day, I took him to his favorite band-they had a concert. You remember _WitchKraft_, right? Well they were his favorite. He was too quiet that day..." I stopped, my eyes beginning to mist up with tears-I kept my gaze down, hoping neither of them saw. "The creek Damon found me by was where I was changed. Levi didn't have compel me to change, you see, because that wouldn't be fun…he forced it. He forced everything." I took a shaky breath, not even questioning why this was coming out now-I'd never told anyone, out loud before. I hardly ever thought about it-and letting it spill, like fresh blood felt was reopening a wound-it gaped its maw, mewling silently in my chest.

"He told me later, when I was in transition…that my blood was special. That he could smell it on me…" I felt the doubt in the room and I jumped to reassure them. "He was crazy. I'd just never noticed how crazy he was-he even had a British accent I'd never even noticed. To this day I really don't know how much he compelled me. But, anyways, he changed me and…left soon after that." I paused, looking up so I could blink the tears away and comb back a section of my hair. "And that's my story." I stated bluntly.

Stefan stared up at me, his eyes practically dewy in the lighting; "I ran away to Maryland and lived off the land there. Lured humans into the woods whenever I wanted and just…turned everything off. It was easy. Life was easy." I hadn't realized how vulnerable I'd sounded but the definite flinch in Stefan's gaze proved it.

I tried not to look at Damon but my eyes seemed drawn to him-I met his eyes, which were blankly on me, before he raised his glass to me silently, tossing it down with the flick of his wrist. Stefan pulled my attention back to him: "Do you know if Levi's still alive?"

My mouth twisted down in a grimace: "No. I don't. But if you find him, by all means, tell _me_."

Stefan nodded, distrust flashing behind his jade irises-oops, maybe I'd given away my real intentions in Mystic Falls already. That would not be good.

"Why did you come back?" The question came from Damon and I turned my gaze to him-he lay back in the couch, arms spread out on either side of him as he met my eyes. "If Levi's half the dick you're describing, and he might be alive…coming back doesn't sound like the best idea."

His glazed eyes intensely focused, his hair flopping carelessly over his forehead-for a moment I was lost. What would happen if I just…crossed the room and brushed it aside? What would happen if my fingertips met his skin? Would he sigh, like I imagined him to, or would he slap my hand aside; for he had mentioned I reminded me of someone he hated… an ache started in my chest at the thought.

"Damon-" I blinked, surprised by how breathlessly his name left my lips-he noticed too, for his eyes widened slightly-I hurried on. "Would you believe me if I said I wanted to live again?"

He was ready to answer when my phone buzzed-I didn't have to pick it up to know who it was. Turning on my heel, I met Stefan's eyes, huffing out: "That'll be Mason." I gave a bright smile to which his face responded in kind. Nodding, I blurred to the front door, only to find Stefan tapping me on the shoulder before I could touch the handle.

"I would like to thank you." He told me, "For telling the truth." I nodded again, forcing myself to remain calm-it wasn't like he was going to shoot more questions my way. "You can stay with me and my brother as long as you'd like."

My lips were tight but I managed a smile as I hesitantly hugged him. He wrapped his arms around me for one second before I pulled away, saying: "Thank you. For being my friend."

For the first time in a long time-I didn't have to fake my smile.

I went to the Mystic Grill as planned-my first date in over 30 years.

_Take that Levi._


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13- Getting to Know Valerie Pt. II**

He'd heard her and Stefen at the door- and despite the way his head was swirling, he didn't like it one bit. In one jerky move, Damon found himself standing in the entryway to the living room, staring Stefen down. Stefen met Damon's eyes with his wary own, but Damon trampled onward:

"Finally, Stefen gets some ass. Thought Elena was enough but…" Stefen's gaze turned steely but Damon raised his near empty whiskey bottle, waving it unsteadily in front of his brother's face, clicking his tongue. "Apparently nottt."

Stefen shook his head, glaring at the ground once before speaking to Damon-Damon choked back the remainder of the whiskey, relishing in the burn as he held Stefen's gaze.

"Do you even hear yourself right now?" Stefen asked, crossing his arms, "you sound ridiculous."

"I'm not the one who was just feeling up Ms. Rabbit in that tight black dress-"

A millisecond passed and suddenly Damon was having an elbow slammed into his jugular, his back against one of the walls that made up the entrance hallway.

"I would watch what you say if I were you." Stefen snarled. "You killed Jeremy the other day. You tried to kiss Elena- that makes my patience with you thin, _Damon, _thin." His tirade came to a pause as he searched Damon's gaze for anything resembling understanding-all he found was an angry, drunk older brother. "Me and Valerie are friends-you hurt her, I hurt you. Got it?"

Head tumbling like the contents of a washing machine, Damon let out a raspy bark of a laugh, struggling to form sentences with Stefen's arm holding him to the wall. "Someone suffering from Lexi flashbacks?" He snipped-the pressure on his neck grew harsher and another laugh rippled through him.

He knew how stupid he was being-but something inside him was smoldering, breaking-it was something he knew but it had a different angle on it…the name of it balanced on the tip of his tongue, but he did not want to know. He didn't want to feel.

"She's not Lexi, Stefen-" he gasped, "she's meaner. The sooner you find that out, the better." The force on his throat increased-and then it was released all together-Damon was free, Stefen glaring at him.

"Go do something, Damon. I'm sure there are other ways to entertain yourself then drinking all night."

Blistering jade met icy sapphire and for a minute, the air was tense-then Damon finished off the last of the whiskey. Setting the bottle wordlessly on the hallway's side table he turned back to the infuriated younger Salvatore. "You're right. I'll see to that…" And then he was flying out the door, blurring down the street…

Stefen stared at the open door, confusion and suspicion warring within his gaze-and then he slowly trudged over to shut the door, sighing in relief as soon as it clicked shut. Some days, he wondered…but fortunately, for him, he'd learned to stop questioning a long time ago.

"Woah, guess you were hungry."

"Haha…yeah. I haven't really eaten all day-this was good, thanks."

"No, problem. What next?"

Damon leered at the bar, downing another shot before grimacing. Listening in on their hot little date wasn't going as pleasant as he had foreseen. His 'listening in' plan had been walk in unnoticed, see how it was going, leave unnoticed, mock Valerie about it later. He found himself wanting to switch tactics; he would bet anything that Valerie would hate him for acting out on it.

He told himself the future possibility of her hate didn't bother him.

They were crossing over to the dartboard…he didn't have to look to hear them. Mason's heart was beating extra hard, slamming against his ribcage as Valerie leaned (Damon could hear the silk of her dress slipping over her body as she bent forward) and kissed Mason very gently on the lips.

Mason's heart stuttered before pumping once again. Damon's hand gripped the glass hard, something in his chest rising with inexplicable heat and force-he slammed it back down. Their relationship could be an advantage-he could use her to find out what Mason really was.

The other day Stefen had officially stated that Mason was not something completely human-why not use Valerie to get the goods out in the open? It was time for action.

"I bet I'll win."

"Doubt itttt big boy-"

Damon was striding toward them when she uttered the sentence-she was looking up at Mason, vermillion waves lapping at the bottoms of her shoulder blades, her eyes wide and grey looking and…happy. Her smile was a million miles wide and glowing, her tiny black dress emphasizing the whiteness of her skin and teeth as well as her formidable body. _Hmmm, this would be fun._

"I would bet on the lady."

Valerie's head whipped around at an unnatural speed-her gaze slipped down Damon's body, taking in his black T-shirt and dark jeans before she met his eyes.

Mason turned to face Damon, his golden eyes cautious as he placed a large hand at her waist. "And who might you be?" He asked, his smile quite genuine and unfortunately…annoying.

Damon gave a snide smile, immaculate white teeth flashing, taking a few more steps forward-his attention shot to Valerie's face to catch her reaction to this. Her eyes, which had been dazed at his sudden appearance, morphed into twin pinpoints of utter fury-ah, what he'd been waiting for.

Meeting Mason's eyes once more he noticed that he and Valerie's exchange hadn't gone unnoticed; the golden-green irises were hardening over as Damon finally ended up in front of him, offering his hand.

"A friend of Valerie's. I'd prefer to go nameless for now if that's alright-wouldn't want to rain on your love _parade_." He shot a glance at Valerie-her eyes were blazing, her hand smashing Mason's in grip bordering death-if she squeezed any harder, she might break his fingers.

"No big deal, man." Mason nodded, refusing to shake Damon's hand as well as guiding Valerie closer to him-the edges of her voluptuous lips turned up as the side of his body meshed against the side of hers.

Content she turned her gaze to Damon, her grey eyes turned down to a warm glow instead of the flames of seconds before. "What brings you here?" she inquired.

Damon waved the hand with a glass of scotch in it carelessly, indicating the entire bar. "Just to stalk you and your date of course. Isn't that always my intention?" He raised his eyebrows coyly after that bit, azure eyes glinting as he enjoyed the way her jaw clenched.

"Well, if you don't mind, we'll just get back to it-"Vainly she attempted to turn Mason around so that they would be facing the dart board once more but it was too late.

"No, no, Valerie-" Mason stopped her with a steady hand at the small of her back-she paused mid turn, assessing Mason as if she didn't know him. "I'd like to get to know some of your friends." He told her, keeping his eyes locked on Damon.

Damon smiled cheekily as Mason began heading over to a booth, Valerie in tow-she glanced back at Damon, her eyes spitting flames like a dragon.

After the cute couple was settled in their spot, Damon began his entourage. "So sorry to hear about your brother, Mason."

Mason's eyebrows went up and he the corner of his mouth tugged upward in a crooked grin. "You knew him?"

"Knew him?" Damon exclaimed, putting his glass down on the table, "we were practically family."

Mason's smile grew-he put one of his bulky arms behind Valerie's shoulders-she immediately cuddled up to him, as if she'd been too cold. Damon's eyes grew hard, something inside him roaring like an inferno…

"Really? Funny how we never met." Mason commented.

"Well, I had my council duties and he had his…mayor duties." The words sounded awkward but Damon covered it up with a sloppy hand gesture.

Mason's eyebrows rose to his hairline. "You're on the Council?"

"Oh, sure…been there for a bit now. Surprised you know about it though." The eldest Salvatore's cerulean eyes gleamed like moonlight on a knife hilt. "Aren't you supposed to have been the rude, stupid and possibly naïve young man who turned down the councils offer for you to join?"

Mason's smile lessened, his arm flexing around Valerie. "I suppose that would be me-though I'm surprised they offered a position to you."

"Oh?" Damon raised his eyebrows-if he was a cat he'd be purring with delight.

"Yeah, they don't usually admit stalkers-their judgment must have slipped." Valerie smirked at this, turning her coy gaze onto Damon as he invisibly struggled for a response.

"Must have-by the way, how old are you? See, Valerie's 17th birthday was coming up and I was thinking…"

The iron in Mason's gaze faltered-quickly he turned his head to glance down on Valerie. "You're sixteen? Hell, Val, that's not even legal-"

Valerie's eyes grew huge as she stared back, the smirk falling off her face-"No, no Mason, I'm not-"

"Oh, don't be _silly_." Damon interrupted, "No use denying that you're only a junior in High School."

Valerie glanced over at Damon, her mouth a tight line-Mason blankly stared down on her. "You don't look 17…" Valerie kept her incinerating glare on Damon before hissing:

"That's because I'm not."

Damon had expected this. "Come on, Valerie-" He sneered. "Don't tell me you don't remember why you were at the school carnival a few days ago?"

As soon as the word 'carnival' crossed his lips, memories assaulted him_. Blondie, looking pathetic-him wanting so badly to harm her, to let the anger from his limbs to flow into something solid. Valerie, standing before him, daring him to make her take the blow…the way she had whispered out "Emily-" as the pain of the flames faded fraction by fraction…and how her eyes had rolled back in her skull when her delicate body greeted the grass with a soft thump…_

She tried desperately to amend the situation. "I was-"

"You were helping set up the Carnival with the high-schoolers instead of going to class, right?"

"I was just there because-"

"And let's not forget your lack of a license. I mean, what _adult_ doesn't have a license?"

She stopped mid speech; her mouth open-Damon eyed her, observing the fury melting into something else. Focusing her attention on Mason's disbelieving expression she said: "This isn't the place to explain this. I'll call you later, okay?"

"But Val-"

"I'm not sixteen, Mason, I swear." She reached up to touch his cheek with her fingertips, her gaze vying, her mouth hesitantly forming a weak smile.

Damon looked away, that strange thing in his chest burning away as he heard: "I have much more experience than some seventeen year old-you know thattt." Damon didn't like the way she drew out the 't' in 'that'; his hand went to the glass and he drank the rest of the scotch soundlessly.

"Alright, babe…"

What, they were on to pet names now? What the hell was this, their second date, maybe? There wasn't a parting smooch, which relieved the awkwardness a tad-Damon wasn't looking when Mason nodded at him, saying: "Nice meeting you." Before heading out and exiting the bar.

Relieved at the man's absence, Damon turned back to Valerie-who was staring at him with the most hate he'd ever seen in a person. Even Stefen hadn't managed to cough up that much…rage.

"You-"

For some reason he found this harder than it should have been; it was infuriating. He knew she was going to be mad-so why, when the moment came, did it bother him?

"I'm just helping out…"

"You're not helping out, Damon." Her emerald eyes struck him down, pinning him to where he sat. Exasperated, she spat out: "You're wasted."

"No dip, Sherlock. Any more interesting theories?"

"You probably ruined the only chance I have of humanity, of a semblance of normal-" Her voice was growing as she ranted and he felt other bar goers' gazes' land on them-he didn't dare look away. "and what's worse is that you know that. I wasn't sure about what Stefen said before…"

She was standing up, brushing off her dress-he rose with her, his legs shaky with the effort of standing straight.

"Oh, I forgot you and my little brother were on a first name basis now."

"Don't even, Damon; he's right. Right about everything." She faced him, her muscles quivering with suppressed indignation. "You're an awful person. I shouldn't be around you, ever."

That wounded him more than it should have-he swayed lightly on his feet, his face slackening at her words. Her face was glowing, even now, a ruby haired vengeful angel that was intent on his demise-for how could he stand among the flames that was she and not turn to dust?

This woman, this _vampire_, for whatever reason, had an effect on him that he did not admire.

Staring at her now brought on a painful, head-slicing sensation-it felt almost like what the littlest Bennet witch did to him, but it rang clearer.

Not an army of dizzying pain but a sharp, quick stab that rang like a gong throughout his skull. Her hair…the waves in it…the color…her wide eyes…he had seen this before, he must have…He didn't want to feel this way. He didn't ask to feel anything-that was what being human meant.

He was a _vampire_-he could rise above this.

His lips curled up softly into the beginnings of a leer, his voice poisonous as he murmured: "Then why are you still here."

Her eyes flashed-he could never read emotions very well but it was something profound-and then she turned her heel and walked out the door, not offering him the pleasure of a witty retort. Damn-and he thought Elena was hard to deal with. Little miss Gilbert had absolutely nothing on Valerie in the freakin' confusing department, that was for sure.

Damon didn't hesitate-turning around he headed straight back to the bar top, demanding a round of vodka immediately.

No one questioned his order, not even himself.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14- Houston, We Have Problems**

"And we are going to…?"

I glanced over at Mason, allowing a weak smile to come over my face-he returned the glance before turning back to looking over the steering wheel.

"Check up on my nephew, Tyler. He's throwing a party by the swimming hole and I just want to remind him of a few things."

I nodded, turning back so that I could stare out the windshield.

"So it's…" I checked the car's clock, "barely past noon and you're already ruining the party? Must run in the family considering the glare your 'nephew' gave me at the wake…"

"You were at the wake?" A laugh. "And Tyler ruined your party? Seriously?"

"Yeah, yeah…but it was a wake and I was messing around a little too much…" I smirked at the thought of Nadia and Adam before experiencing a pang of fear-how many days had it been since I had left the motel? They didn't have anything to eat or drink…I was a bad person. But then again, I wasn't really a person, was I? I was a vampire.

"Knowing you…I bet so." He laughed again before clearing his throat, starting with:

"So…can I know his name now?"

"Whose name?" For a second I was struck by utter panic-when I had talked about partying did he know I was with Adam? For some reason the thought of mentioning my toys filled me with shame…as if I didn't have enough emotions to deal with. Humanity is so very tiring.

I sank down deeper in the car seat, my black lacey tank riding up against the waistband of my acid washed jeans.

"Your friend." Mason reiterated; I kept my face forward, my mind blank. "The one who dropped by to say hello last night on our date."

_Oh._

"I guess." He laughed at my grumpy tone, reaching out and over so that his arm slung over my shoulders. There was a half-second of stilted silence before I murmured:

"His name's Damon Salvatore."

Mason's arm flexed at the softness in my voice; for a moment, I wondered why…

"Well no offense, Val-" A faint smile crossed my face; he knew he was the only one allowed to call me that. "But he didn't seem like much of a friend." The way he said it had me scrambling-why did this feel like such a bad thing to me? Damon really was not that good of a friend. He really was not.

However,…the feeling was coming stronger now-that strange feeling that said I'd known Damon Salvatore long before my recent return to Mystic Falls.

Somehow, I couldn't deny the truth in that…the way he affected me, the way his name _felt _to me was all wrong. I hated him…but at the same time, memories were shifting underneath my skin…memories I didn't know, memories I couldn't even begin to understand.

I'd said Emily, and Katherine, and almost curtsied at Damon's feet. What the hell was that? It was something unexplainable-something I absolutely had to get to the bottom of.

"He's not that bad, Mason. He was drunk, okay…"

Mason snorted: "That was for sure."

"He's not all bad."

Mason glanced over at me, at how my arms were crossed and my eyes were icy, and fell silent. Hesitantly I added, "I think."

"Alright, Val, if you say so…"

I huffed, reaching up to brush a large section of my crimson hair up and over my forehead. "I don't know, Mason. I don't know. Just…don't talk bad about him, okay? Unless he does something. Then feel free to punch him and be macho."

"Be macho?"

I grinned, reaching over and stroking the side of his face with tender fingers. Raking my eyes down his frame, I caught sight of his curls as we bounced over woody terrain. I shivered; the curls were too familiar…I dropped my hand.

"Don't worry," I purred, covering up that stupid, very déjà vu feeling, "I like macho."

That was when we pulled up to the swimming hole, and Tyler caught sight of Mason's truck. I turned away, not feeling up to being judged by the arrogant looking high school-er once again. I faced forward, thinking about the feeling that was bubbling under my skin…I had to fix this.

I couldn't stand one more day-but who could I talk to? Who would know things about the town…I couldn't talk to the Salvatore's, or Elena, or even my history teacher-earlier this morning I'd stumbled down the stairs only to find them packing up to go on an adventure.

Feeling left out I had just called Mason and told him to pick me up so we could hang out for a little bit before he went off to his meeting. Apparently, he had a meeting he had to go to-it happened once every month, he explained, and that it was mandatory for his job. I'd then asked him what his job was but he hadn't replied; thinking that he hadn't heard me I had switched topics, speaking louder.

I couldn't talk to Blondie, aka 'Caroline'; I'd saved her ass, sure, but she didn't really owe me-hell, if she didn't already have enough problems to deal with by the looks of it. There was only one person left-to my surprise and joy I realized she could probably help me most of all.

"Val?"

I started to hear Mason calling my name-I glanced up to see my current boyfriend, staring at me expectantly. "I have to go to my meeting…"

"Sure, sweetie…" I cooed, "but, if you have time, could you take me to this person?" I held out my phone, pointing to the name.

"Bonnie Bennet? Sure she's not that far away…might wanna text her though, Val, ask her where she wants to meet up. Are you sure you've had a phone before…?"

A few minutes later, I found myself at the Grill, where Bonnie had agreed to meet me.

After suffering several quips about my poor knowledge of how my phone worked, etc. I thanked Mason profusely, kissed him goodbye, and stepped into the diner.

* * *

><p>Glancing around me, I spotted Bonnie almost immediately in her flowy long-sleeved shirt and tight jeans. Without hesitation, I found myself sliding into the seat across from her, crossing my legs casually before meeting her eyes.<p>

Her ebony hair lay straight upon her shoulders, her bangs diagonal across her taunt forehead-distrusting hazel eyes peered into mine as her fingers tightened on the stack of books that lay between us. I peered back at her, expressionless. I had ruined her spell to kill Damon-I'd protected him and had responded sarcastically to her threats. Then again, I'd proved that I didn't want to hurt her or Elena, who was obviously a very close friend, and had saved Caroline. Where did that make us stand?

"What do you want?"

I raised my delicate eyebrows at her harsh demand, pursing my lips.

"Really?" I stated, deciding to screw foreplay and just get it over with. "Why are you talking to me like that?"

"You protected Damon. You stopped me from killing him. He had to be dealt with."

"Oh, please-he was hurt. He was acting stupid. Which one of us hasn't done that? And I saved Caroline, if you remember-"

"You're a vampire. You would kill Caroline if you had the chance."

My face turned sour, my lips growing tighter, jade eyes flashing as I stared her down. "No I wouldn't."

"Then why save her?"

"Damon was being a dick to her. Couldn't let her be…taken advantage of."

"Taken advantage of?"

I sighed loudly, stilling the feelings of hurt and anger that usually came up at the subject of Levi. "I was turned by my boyfriend around 1970. He…almost raped me." If Bonnie was surprised, I couldn't tell; her face seemed on pause.

"Took advantage of me. Seeing Damon harass Caroline and promise her death reminded me too much of him and I couldn't let her end up as screwed to hell as I am. I have to deal with…those memories every day. And I couldn't let that happen to her."

The witch's mouth trembled, as if she wasn't sure what to make of me yet. I didn't really know what to make of me either, so I moved on. "I know Damon wasn't going to rape Caroline or anything but the way he was talking to her…it was like Levi was talking to me. Like she was…nothing. Just a problem."

To my horror I realized my voice was almost shaking, about to crack right on the word 'problem'. I swallowed thickly, holding Bonnie's gaze. After a long, awkward pause, Bonnie drew her arms back to herself, leaving the books untouched.

"Then why save him?"

"I…don't know. That's why I'm here." I leaned forward, putting my arms out and flipped up, an almost pleading gesture. "Damon kidnapped me. He knocked me out and dragged me to his house only to see if I had information on Katherine." Bonne's eyes turned hard as she stared at me-I wasn't sure if it was because of the mentioning of Damon's actions or because I was still speaking. "He's been nothing but rude and arrogant most of my stay there…he's even pinned me to a wall and threatened me multiple times…he's like Levi."

My green eyes turned wet-I blinked twice to dispel the awful sensation but I was deathly sure the witch had caught me red-handed. "I hate _him_. Or I should hate him-but for some reason, I can't." I took in a shaky breath, coming to a halt and throwing my eyes to the Formica tabletop. Why was I so weak? Why couldn't I just shove this all away?

"So he kidnapped you to see if you had info, on Katherine?"

"Yeah, I don't even really know who she is-just that Stefen loved her and that she looks exactly like Elena. But she's nothing like her-that is…until the Lockwood's Wake."

"And…?

"Apparently, after I figured out that Katherine and Elena were both at there… I passed out-but before I did I whispered 'Katherine'."

Bonnie's eyes, which had previously been yielding some kind of emotion, now appeared guarded, as if she could barely bring herself to believe me.

"Vampires don't just pass out, Bonnie-I bet you knew that." She nodded and I continued. "Not only that, but I don't know Katherine. Damon brought me to his house and asked me about it when I awoke but I couldn't tell him anything. That's why I'm here."

I thought it best not to mention the whole overwhelming 'I'm feeling again for the first time since I was human' thing; best to keep to the worrisome stuff.

Bonnie studied me, nodding almost mutely before saying: "You called me Emily too-before you passed out at the Carnival."

My mouth fell open; I jumped at the chance to cover up my surprise. "I thought no one but Damon had noticed…"

"Well, I did." She retorted smartly, reaching for the top book on the stack of three or four-I watched as she took the book off, sliding it across the table surface to me. I stopped its flight, my eyes catching the bookmark already present-I opened up to the section that was marked. A face filled up the whole page-a woman with darker skin and shadowy eyes that belonged to a round face-I read the caption right as Bonnie announced it.

"That's Emily Bennet, my ancestor." The name caused a spiking sensation in my skull-I winced, breaking eye contact with her. Bonnie watched me with a remote gaze. "She was a witch too." The spiking sensation increased in power-my eyes snapped open and I gasped, images of a familiar bonnet swimming in front of my eyes…

"_Emily…" _I breathed-I barely had time to meet Bonnie's alarmed gaze before my stomach dropped-the last thing I felt was Bonnie's hand on my wrist.

_They had just meant to go on a walk to get to know each other, underneath the peach trees. They were strolling despite the grey skies, and Savannah threw her head back, laughing aloud at something her companion had mentioned. She did not carry a parasol, unlike the other ladies, and she knew that well. She was decked from head to foot in a beautiful silk midnight blue dress. _

_Every second or so a cloud would pass the sun, a ray or two shining down and exposing the pearls that were embellished in her tight bodice. _

_The beautiful laugh came to an end-she lifted her head up from where she had thrown it back, her long, long wavy vermillion hair following the movement. She turned her jade eyes onto her friend-he smiled softly at her, in awe of her beauty and strangeness. _

_He was gorgeous as well-his outfit matched hers-a dark blue suit with a white shirt underneath, black slacks bringing out the ebony shade of his curls. His sapphire eyes flickered with amusement-they were face to face, for she was tall, and he found that invigorating. She met his eyes, smiling wistfully at him; they glowed with young, new love._

"_You are different from other girls, if you don't mind me saying Ms. Vielle." He crossed his arms behind his back, stepping in front of her so that they came to a stop. She smiled gently-both were so innocent it was almost blinding to watch. _

"_That I am. Is that a problem Mr. Salvatore?" She raised her eyebrows at the eldest Salvatore, giggling lightly. _

"_Not at all, my lady." A blush started in her cheeks at 'my lady'. _

"_I was just wondering…" He politely threw his gaze to the ground in shame for his abrupt question before meeting her gaze again, "How Ms. Katherine came to find you?"_

_For a moment Savannah's face was blank-the blush flew out of her cheeks and the sky seemed to physically darken-she shivered, but she clasped her white gloved hands in an almost desperate, jerky move. _

"_I do not think it wise to inquire about such things."_

"_Absolutely, Ms. Savannah, my apologies-" He bowed slightly but her next words made him stand abruptly._

"_No, I understand-you are merely curious, and you were wondering how someone you care about came to know someone so…strange."_

_He searched her face, his eyebrows crowding in on his forehead-how could she know of these things? _

"_I died, Mr. Salvatore." His lips turned into a flat line; his eyebrows scrunched up yet further in a state of confusion._

"_Pardon?"_

_Her eyes flashed to the grass beneath her boots."I died, figuratively. As you know I arrived here, in Mystic Falls, in April with Katherine-you know how I was absent for all of May?"_

_She did not wait for his response._

"_For a month, I dealt with a sickness I'd inherited from my old home in Maryland. Katherine took me under her care, nursed me back to health, and reintroduced me to you Salvatore's. She saved my life-I cannot thank her enough for that. I am in debt to her."_

_For a moment, the silence was overwrought with tension-as she raised her eyes to his she winced-Damon stared at her, having not noticed. _

"_Well I'll have to thank her then-" _

_Savannah blinked, her eyes appearing grey in the low light; she held his gaze in wide-eyed surprise. He smirked, drawing nearer, vaguely aware of the effect he had on her. "For it would have been rather unfortunate if we had never met."_

_Savannah's cheeks flushed-he smiled in earnest, his whites flashing in a dazzling fashion that almost made her die of happiness. _

"_Damon-"she breathed, temporarily forgetting etiquette as he waited for her to speak, his smile quite devilish. _

_All of a sudden the clouds blew open with a mighty roar-simultaneously they looked up at the silvery sky. In a matter of moments rain was pouring down like there was no tomorrow, coming in iron colored sheets-_

_Savannah shrieked in bewilderment and pleasure, opening her arms to the condensation and allowing its freezing countenance to grace her body. Damon blinked at her, staring as her vermillion hair grew damp and dripping, the water sliding off her hair and down into her bodice, where her bosom heaved…_

"_Savannah!" he called, snapping out of it. He ran toward her, throwing his arms over her head in an attempt to save her dignity, his smile wide. "You mustn't bare yourself so, you'll catch cold!"_

_The sentence was barely out when the girl abandoned him-picking up her skirts in fistfuls, she charged back the way they had come, laughing and calling out: "Catch up, Salvatore!" He laughed aloud before racing after her, his clothes sticking to his skin, his curls flat on his head. Of course, being a boy he caught up with her by the time they reached the edge of Katherine's house, at the servants' gate. _

_Reaching out he snatched her wrist, turning her to him-she faced him, their eyes met-it was still raining, the sound pounding out a rhythm on the grass surrounding, but they couldn't hear anything. _

_They peered at each other, each breathless-electricity crackled in between them as their gazes intertwined, emerald and sapphire, jade and azure. After a moment, he opened his mouth-but her sudden grimace ruined his attempt. Whipping around she met with the servant's gate-and Emily Bennet in front of it, bonnet and all._

"_What is it, Emily?" gasped Savannah-Damon drew his glance from Emily to Savannah, not understanding the connection between them-Emily was eerie to him, a witch by rumor…_

_Emily's chilling doe eyes met Savannah's; at the eye contact Savannah flinched-Damon reached a hand out to her, not understanding anything…since when were Emily and Savannah acquainted with each other? What was wrong? _

_Without warning Savannah quickly turned to Damon, leaning forward and placing a quick kiss on his cheek. She pulled away just as fast-he gaped as she met his eyes, something akin to fire flickering behind her emerald irises. _

"_Katherine has returned from riding-have a good evening, Damon." Then she was gone, rushing into the house, leaving a dripping Damon in her wake._

_Emily stepped in the house behind Savannah, holding the door open for one prolonged second as she gave Damon a warning glance. "Be careful Mr. Salvatore." She whispered-and then she let the door close behind her, the last view of her bonnet bobbing away…_

I opened my eyes, which had tears leaking from them, only to be face to face with a shocked Bonnie. Mouth open she watched me, her eyes wide as she retracted her hand from around my wrist.

"What the hell…?" she murmured-I stared at her, tears streaming down my face, avoiding other curious restaurant goer's eyes. She leaned back far in her seat, gasping out: "What are you?"

I blinked before wiping away my tears, allowing my simpering gaze to turn as hard as ice.

"Good question."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15-"Here'ssss Johnny!"**

The appearance of a rattled Bennet witch amused me.

"So…this is Katherine?" One of my pale fingers lay on the woman of my nightmares, who was contained in a worn photograph-Elena with the curls in a hoopskirt. Apparently, it was one of the only photographs of Emily and Katherine in Katherine's front yard-the front yard I'd seen in my vision from earlier, in fact.

Not that it mattered-I'd locked the images away in the back of my mind, pure iron will holding them down.

"Now I just think you're getting sarcastic-yes."

I was bent over a weathered volume-every time I breathed, I practically sucked in dust. "I don't get what Stefen saw in her."

Bonnie rolled her eyes, tugging the book back to her chest. I leant back into my booth, crossing my arms at her dramatic reaction. Like hell that I cared-it was her decision to give me this history lesson. As much as I loved watching her struggle with me, I didn't want to push her-I might be annoying but I'm not stupid-she could use her witchy powers on me!

Bonnie watched me temporarily, shaking her head. "You're going to have to learn to be nice-you're in enough trouble as it is."

"What are you talking about?"

Bonnie trained her dark-set eyes on me before rattling off a list:

"Caroline's a new vamp, which is hard enough as it is, you ACT like a new vamp, which makes things HARDER. You screw around with people all the time and act like you don't care, and fantasize about Damon's civil war love-life…."

My jade eyes flew into a shade of the darkest kind of rage as I exclaimed,"I DO NO-"

Her eyebrows rose back at me, hinting at a storm if I did not let her ramble on further. I continued to glare at her from a safe distance across the booth.

"You're possibly a lesbian, at least that's what Elena's told me from your first meeting. You drink human blood, and Damon seems to have a plan for you. Should I go on?"

My mouth was open, ready to give back some of what that little bitch had given me, but I couldn't seem to. She was right, on almost all accounts-except one.

"You think Damon has a plan for me? Kinky." I winked at her, pursing my voluptuous lips in a sexy pout; the flinch behind her irises' told me millions about how much she wasn't into, shall we call it, 'my special team'? My question was serious, however. I don't think it took a genius to see how lost and scrambling I was; anyone who pointed it out, though, I would scathe them alive…

"Why else would he take you?" Bonnie replied. Her flawless, beige skin was forming a poker face-I squinted my eyes at her, leaning forward slightly-was she hiding something from me? I couldn't tell.

I needed to know.

"Do you know anything more?"

She lifted her chin at the suggestion, as if she was secretly proud of my question. Wait; had I just been baited? Oh, yes, I had-and I had sunk, hook, line and sinker.

My phone buzzed before she could respond-it was Adam.

Not bothering to open the text, I placed my phone on the tabletop and faced the littlest Bennet.

"Do you know what Damon wants from me? Or not?"

"I think I do." Bonnie took a subtle glance around-and then her phone rang, the undeniable sound of 'Animals' by Neon Trees breaking throughout the café.

I smiled openly at the noise, ready to make a snarky comment, but her actions were too fast-a minute later, she was off the phone and staring at me with wide, apologetic eye.

"Caroline needs me. I have to go…"

Her dramatics were silly.

"Look-" I snapped-I was all kinds of cool and collected, and this moment was no different. "We have to talk about thi-"

She was getting up, purse in hand, scooping up the books and stuffing them under her arm.

"Bonnie!" I exclaimed, exasperated, my jade eyes wild with rage, and sadness, and…confusion.

I didn't want to be alone-I didn't know what I was.

It was an awful, crippling, pathetic feeling that felt so human I swore I almost felt my icy heart beat.

Just before she exited the restaurant completely she met my eyes, calling out a reassuring:

"Later-Saturday, at Elena's. Be there."

I nodded-and then she was gone.

I sighed, glancing down and seeing my phone flash with Adam's text message-I didn't pause in opening it.

_Come back._

At the moment, that was all I needed-that one little text was enough to have me run all the way back to Motel 6, blurring past people until I was finally in front of my suite.

The room's door was a worn shade of sea foam, the knob a bronze sphere that I did not spare a second glance. With a sharp, precise kick, the door splintered to pieces-and then a scent-wave hit me.

I didn't get a chance to see my room-I fell to my knees, gasping, inhaling the sudden, unexpected smell; it was blood. Not just a little either-I mean, gallons of blood.

How I had not smelt it miles away?

My fangs were pricking into my lips, my gums moaning to release them fully-the skin around my eyes crackled as I finally glanced up, taking in the view of _our_ motel room.

The room was exactly as it had been-Nadia had made the bed the morning I'd left, and Adam had been numbly watching television in only his briefs-but now it was vainly obvious that they weren't here.

_They _were the blood.

Whole puddles of crimson stained the cheap wallpapered walls, as if a vicious animal had ripped my companions apart-I struggled to remain kneeling, breathing deeply in and out…

Vermillion lay scattered on the floor…the stench was alluring, as well as sickening-they were not _here_.

Looking around I spotted one, pair of briefs sopping with crimson; my stomach cramped so tight I was sure I was about to be barf or lick the grey carpeted floor.

"Adam?" I called weakly. "Nadia?" I couldn't seem to get to my feet-I was focusing on not lapping up their blood like a sick dog when I heard something-a barely palpable fluttering, to my left, on the hallway floor in which I now knelt.

My muscles regained their fluidity, and I slipped into an upright position, my hand reaching out at the noise and coming back with a note.

On a torn sheet of motel stationary, elegant loops and swirls made out a message:

Dearest Val,

I knew you had great taste, but those two pets of yours were most…_delicious_.

I must say I am so sorry we had to part ways as we did in '70…truly; you are such a beautiful thing to waste. I saw you at the wake-I must say, you looked quite stunning in that blue dress of yours.

Damon Salvatore seemed to enjoy the dress as well. Say 'hi' to him for me, would you?

Xoxo-

L

* * *

><p>I was trying not to shake when I walked into the Salvatore home, somewhere around 12 at night. I had not run there-I had walked all the way across town at a steady pace, peering around every corner, trying to look brave.<p>

For he had been watching me.

I had never been safe-I had never had an advantage-and that made me feel miserable.

I stumbled into the Salvatore living area, aka the library. I did not hear the cackling flames that maintained themselves in the fireplace, or catch the whiff of silk and musk. I would probably have run into the wall had I not heard a very distinct voice.

"Bad day?"

I glanced up, coming to a stop-and there was Damon, scotch in hand. He held out another glass toward me, filled to the brim with molten liquid-I stared at him blankly until his eyes flashed to mine with obvious irritation.

"Take the glass. You know it'll make you feel better." I was frozen-Levi was laughing inside my head, whispering words that I did not want to hear.

_You looked…stunning in that blue dress, _his appreciative murmur slithered into my skull, bound to repeat for quite possibly forever.

Damon's ultramarine eyes glittered, a startling contrast to his black ab-hugging sweater.

"Makes the pain go away. Magic cure." He waved the glass in front of me, lips pursed with bubbling annoyance-I met his eyes ever so slowly-his gaze bore nothing toward me as it had days before. There was no wonder or amusement….

I was just a guest, a stranger he was being unusually calm to. In that case…I would need a drink.

For I had no one in the world that cared about me except a psychotic who-knows-how-old-and-powerful vampire.

I snatched the drink out of his hand so fast it would have spilled had he not released it just as quick. In a few heady strides, I stumbled to the couch, collapsing on it so that I lay elegantly on my side, my chest popping out of my lacey black tank by itself, my acid-washed flare jean legs laying on top each other as I sipped the scotch.

He crossed the room at a steady, normal pace, before sitting on the couch opposite. I looked up just in time to see his questioning look, which faded away as soon as I was peering into his sculpted features. Holding my eyes, he tossed back a glass, and as soon as the alcohol was down, he asked:

"What happened? You not give Mason enough _puppy love_?" His face was straight, but the question reignited some of my old indignation.

I tipped my glass back-damn the drink was good…before allowing my dead voice to respond:

"No, he gets enough." My eyes were set on the dancing flames in the fireplace as I said this, so I didn't get to see his face.

"Well, what then?" he asked, the pitch of his voice having risen in bitchiness.

My eyes studied the shapes of the flames-I felt dead. Not cold, not in control, not warm…just still. For the first time ever-what was I? I had no idea. For some reason the flames kept morphing into shapes-the curve of a curl, or the shape of a lacey parasol…the back of a bonnet disappearing…

"You first." I whispered-my glass went back again, and I still hadn't emptied the thing.

"Fine." I heard him drink before stating: "Elena hates me. We aren't friends."

"You were friends?" The tips of my lips curled up at the sound of his exasperated pause.

"Cute." There was a longer pause-the fire was just fascinating. "She used me."

The words were soft, broken-for a moment, my dead insides splintered-heat slid through the cracks, creating a spiking sensation in my head…

_No. Not the time for freaky déjà vu moments, at all. _

I winced at the cranium pressure-he didn't seem to notice my flinch as I rasped:

"She seems too nice for that." I opened my eyes once more, my rapid blinking bringing the eldest Salvatore's face back into focus. He surveyed my sprawled body with a vague glance, as if wondering at my words.

"Not the first time a pretty girl's done…less than pretty things." He met my eyes with his rapt own-I captured the mischievous glint in his gaze but I did not return the smirk.

As I dropped my eyes and finished off my glass, he finally voiced the question I had been waiting on.

"Oh, come on. What's with the frown, Val? Serious answers, this time please."

My eyes lay on the fireplace as the word 'Val' caused me to shiver in disgust and fury.

"Don't call me Val, please." I whispered through my teeth.

There was an awkward moment of silence before he offhandedly quipped: "You keep saying that and I still don't know why." More awkward silence-the flames licked the empty air between us, shedding light on my growing pent-up rage.

It tumbled out-I did not feel my lips but I heard my own voice fly across the room.

"That was Levi's nick-name for me." Now that the truth was out, I was burning alive-my insides twisted viciously as I flipped my hair aside, my emerald glare now upon the attractive male across from me.

His face was clear of any joking now, having gone some-what slack at my statement. Of course, he wouldn't know how to react to this. Unable to contain the venom within myself I spat out, "It's not like I go around saying the word 'Katherine' all the time, reminding you of your guys' screw-up of a relationship."

He didn't get a chance to speak-my mouth was gibbering with insults at this point, for I seemed incapable of doing anything but being mean.

"Is that all you think about?" I whispered, narrowing my eyes at him from across the room. "Katherine, Katherine, Katherine?" I cooed-his eyes lit up and I gave a cruel smile. "Ding, ding-" I called enthusiastically, "we have a winner!"

I had right where I wanted him-furious and…delicious. He was…_yummy _when he was mad. I wanted that…I needed that. A distraction from the one man who would never let me go-the one I could never seem to kill. I sat up slowly, dragging my legs with me until my feet lay upon the rug-the seductive movement didn't catch his eye-that was how ready to burst he was. For a few seconds, we held gazes-I studied the anger in his eyes-and for one moment, I saw the pure agony behind it. The pain-the pain I had seen on the first day I had met him, the one that had made me _feel_ again.

And it was all for this Katherine girl-this bitch, this whore. I had learned enough about her from Bonnie's books and Stefen's diaries-and I had even had the pleasure of meeting her myself-and all those experiences had screamed 'stay away' at me.

Boys were stupid for not seeing that. Once again, my emotions rendered useless-they switched so rapidly on me that it was confusing. How do humans pick one? Instead of feeling furious, I felt sad, concerned even. I could not fight anymore. My inhibitions fell away, my fury unraveling in pieces until I was suddenly left as a human once more, a girl shivering on a stranger's couch.

I shook my head sadly at him, tears welling in my eyes. "It's best to let her go, Damon. To let everything about her fly away. "

Nothing in his gaze changed and I found myself slowly growing angry again. Didn't he understand? Katherine wasn't stalking him, watching his every move, never leaving him alone! He could have easily killed her at the wake…and he hadn't.

"She doesn't want you, Damon." I whispered, my voice delicately tiptoeing between our tense frames. "Can't you see that?"

The tears in my eyes were enough to blur my vision-so it wasn't a surprise when he appeared right in front of me, his eyes maniacal with absolute fury. Onyx hair glowing in the firelight, he towered above me, a pure statue of malice that any human had the right to run away from.

"I feel _nothing _for Katherine." He snarled-I blinked at my stupid tears, desperately trying to read something in his gaze other than his awful temper and crippling misery-and I saw nothing.

Yet, his words did not have me convinced. They never would convince me-and somehow, that hurt.

He would not let go of his old love; how did that fare for me? Would Levi never let me go?

Nevertheless, there was something more than that to why the statement's falsity wounded me….as deep as I peered inside myself, I couldn't make it out.

I lifted my chin, my eyes pretentious and frightening despite their dampness. To my surprise, I found the words slipping out, my voice hard and dead.

"He won't let me go either."

Shaking his head, eyes still furious, Damon raised his eyebrows before letting out an exasperated: "What?"

There was a short, terse silence-and then a voice rang throughout the room.

"Is there a problem here?"

I glanced up and across the room, only to see Stefen standing at the door, arms crossed as he glared at Damon. Inside myself I felt a burst of relief so violent I nearly swayed where I sat-finally, I could tell someone.

I had to tell someone. As it was, I cut in before Damon's protests could even be uttered "Stefen?"

Stefen's moss-green eyes turned on me, switching from scorn to concern in a millisecond.

"What is it, Valerie?"

I shuddered, the vibration through my body visible for all to see, and then I whispered:

"Levi's back. And he knows where I am."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16-Add it to The List **

I awoke, my head pulsating with agony-I gripped my ruby colored locks in desperation as a moan slipped out through my teeth.

What the hell had happened? All I remembered was Stefen, finding Damon and me in the midst of arguing…as usual.

I had been excited to see Stefen, however, why?

Opening my eyes reluctantly, I gave one last wince, rubbing my head with both hands before dropping them-the movement caused my fingers to brush achingly warm skin and I glanced down only to find myself in a bed-with Mason letting out gentle snores beside me. Wait-why was he in bed with me?

Taking in the sheets that lay around my sluggish form I found them to be white cotton sheets-in a four-poster bed. With a gasp of surprise and horror, I glanced up to see a bathroom, right across from where I lay-and yes, it was full of smoky grey tile.

I could not accept the truth until I had turned my head and taken in the sight of the worn volume on the bedside table_-Gone with the Wind_'s gothic lettering peered back at me innocently, unaware of my growing plight.

"I'm in Damon's room." I whispered-and then, feeling a breeze on my upper half, I looked down. I was wearing nothing but a lacey, violet colored thong.

Looking up slowly, I peered straight out into space-how had this happened?

Shifting through my memories, I found little answers. I only recalled pouring my heart out to Stefen about everything to do with Levi, if that wasn't embarrassing enough, and then crying buckets of tears. I had fallen asleep somewhere in the morning, in the Salvatore library, on the couch.

I distinctly remember Damon being the last one to put a quilt on me…and then darkness. When had that been? Tuesday? Wednesday? Damn; why was it so hard to remember?

Glancing over at Mason for clues, I saw that he was in a deep sleep, arm thrown over my waist-with a quick peek under the sheets I found out all I needed to know. The soreness between my legs wasn't a joke-me and Mason had finally had sex. Damn! Why couldn't I recall any of the juicy details?

Suddenly, I became aware of voices downstairs. Gently throwing Mason's arm off me, I watched his peaceful face to see if he had felt the action-his pleasant mouth was slack and his features were relaxed-well I obviously hadn't left him wanting.

Slipping out of bed, I found my clothes-and I instantly grew suspicious. These weren't my clothes-were they?

I picked up a violet corset with a plunging neckline; seeing no bra in sight, I reluctantly slipped the piece over my head…and then, where the corset had been, were black fishnets and a black mini skirt. There appeared to be no shoes as well-so I doubtfully put those on. What had I been playing as-a stripper?

The voices from downstairs grew in volume, pushing me forward-tripping lightly across the wood floor I stumbled out the door, gently shutting it behind me.

Outside Damon's room, down the hall and at the head of the stairs, I could make out words.

"So you and Elena still on the outs?"

"Uhmm." Stefen answered calmly. Wait-when and he and Elena been broken up? Since when? Was I a friend enough that I had to…call or something?

I don't know.

I'd never really had friends.

Or people I could call that. In Maryland…I tried to stay in the woods, keeping my anger away from everyone else. What else do you call that burning feeling inside yourself that won't go away, no matter how hard you try?

One minute I'd been an innocent girl, just another hippy-and the next I'd had everything taken away from me, reduced to living in the woods like an animal for fear of actually _becoming_ that animal.

Eventually, I learned that giving in wasn't so bad. I also learned how to be mean, selfish-to forget and defy everything I used to be.

Valerie Grey was never coming back-ever again. Levi had made sure of that.

"I don't buy it!" Damon called-I could hear Stefen crossing the room, exiting out the door-where was he going?

"Fine, don't answer me-have fun with masquerade preparations." Masquerade? Where the hell had I been…

My limbs moved of their own accord-one second I balanced precariously on the top step and the next I was in the entrance hall, where Damon was turning around.

He was wearing a sapphire, silky button-up that matched the color of his eyes to the last shade- his ocean eyes were currently twinkling with mischief as he caught sight of my outfit.

"Nice seeing you again." He murmured-I rolled my eyes in disgust at his obvious appreciation of my outfit. Would it really kill him to be a gentleman? He'd seen me crying the other day, hadn't he? Give me some slack.

"Stefen and Elena aren't okay?" The question came out collected and calm, but maybe he could see past those kinds of things.

"Why do you care?" He teased, stepping closer to me-a wave of musk hit me in the face and it took a considerable amount of willpower not to press my lips to his-wait! What the hell?

I could not feel that way about this man-he was Levi, all over again-I could not feel that way. Not just that, but he was possibly worse-Levi had at least faked being a gentleman, but Damon couldn't seem to bring himself to.

As if proving my point, his eyes raked down my hair, which I'd forgotten was considerably mussed-sex –hair. Meeting my eyes he whispered, "Been busy?"

The joking glint in his gaze had vanished-his lips had visibly grown thinner, as if he couldn't quite believe it. Why did he care? What the hell had been going on?

I used his own question against him. I took a cautious step back. (It felt too weird being near him in these clothes…not that I was completely bothered by them. But they were hideous. And tacky, and revealing. No big deal, right?)

"Why do you care?" I quipped.

His eyes hardened to ice faster than I could blink. "I don't." He shrugged carelessly, passing me into the living room-I remained frozen for a long second-and then he said something so offhandedly, I almost ignored it.

"It's just that you've been acting strange lately…Saint Stefen was growing concerned over his precious prodigy."

I turned on my heel, crossing the space between us-I grabbed his shoulder and attempted to turn him around-his fingers shot out and gripped my wrist so tight I heard the bone splinter -I tore it away before further damage could be done-and then we eyed each other down.

"Now listen to me-you inconsiderate _dick_-" I hissed, emerald eyes alight like leaves in sunshine, "tell me what I've been up to. No teasing anymore. None of that checking me out business either-which I know is so hard for you since I'm in this ridiculous get-up, but you can get the hell _over _it."

He raised his eyebrows, not maddened at all by my rant. "Someone's grumpy…"

"Tell. Me. Now."

My purposeful tone was throwing him off his game. Rolling his azure eyes, he spat out:

"Fine, Ariel. The day after you woke up after that Levi crap, you started acting weird. Weirder than usual."

"How weird?"

He paused, studying me for a second, eye widening and shrinking-the unnamable 'eye-thing' that I'd seen him do dozens of times before.

"You left home early in the morning, even though Stefen wanted to talk about Levi, blablabla, the usual jazz. You came back late, drunk….and wearing almost nothing. Your clothes were ripped and had blood on them-"

I froze, my muscles turning as solid as stone at his words. I had absolutely no memory of this…my mind was a clean slate, devoid of any images except for the ones where I was crying about Levi.

"I asked you about it but you just said something about how it didn't matter." He shrugged once again, his raven-colored hair ruffling at the movement. The action made my palms tingle-I wanted to smack him-more than just about anything in the world.

Raising my dainty eyebrows, my malachite eyes sizzled into his cobalt.

"You didn't ask anything more? What the-"

Raising his slender palms in the air, he waved off my oncoming tirade, not a smile on his face as he crooned: "Hey, hey-wasn't my business."

For a long, trembling moment, I remained even though every cell in my body was begging not too. How hard would it be to hit him right across the face? To just let all my rage flow into one, sinuous movement that would spell my feelings out loud and clear.

What was stopping me? The young Damon of my dreams? Or my goal to kill Levi?

I needed Damon, right? Nothing made sense anymore.

Seeing as my revelations were leading me nowhere, Damon took a step back, saying: "Alright…so I'll leave you to reflect on that while I'm doing something _fun_."

To my alarm, he began stealthily heading up the stairs-in a flash I had passed him, arms open, blocking the entrance to the upper hallway. His eyes slid up and down my frame twice, a sneaky smile creeping across his cheeks.

"What? Forgot to take one of your friends home?" He smirked before adding: "We can share."

He didn't know how close to the mark he was-but I couldn't allow him to see Mason-in his bed-naked. Who knows what Damon would do? Probably kill him for sure. My heart ached like a teenage girl at the thought, and I hastily shoved the mushy thoughts away.

"Nopppe-" My drawing out of the word wasn't helping-his smile fell, his eyebrows moving downward in a suspicious 'v'. "Just wondering if anything else happened…since I've been acting weird."

He gave me a long, strange look before sighing out: "Come on, you were there. Why do you need a recap.?" As soon as he finished the sentence he calmly attempted to come up the last few stairs and brush past me-my arm remained as solid as iron.

Thoughts racing, I came out with, "You wouldn't mind telling me what day it is, would you?" He pulled away, giving me that same long, questioning look- scrambling for cover I offered a spiteful smile, my pearly teeth brilliant. "You know…because I've been so _busy_, lately."

His questioning look lessened somewhat at that-damn, had I really been acting like that much of a hoe?-before he muttered. "Sometimes I wonder about you, Ariel…its Saturday. Now let me go grab my-"

I hadn't been expecting the push against my arm, as he probably knew-I was shoved aside as he summed up with: "jacket."

_Oh, shit. _I moved in his direction, but it was too late-my arms were out, stretching to his distant, blue silk back as he came to a halt, his chin raised. Sniffing the air like a trained hunting dog, his cold tone traveled back to me. "Someone have _puppy_ for dessert and decide to crash in my bed _after_?"

For once, I was at a loss for action and words. I hadn't crashed after….the whole thing had kind've happened, there, as far as I knew. And puppy? What was he talking about? It was far too late to examine details, however-all I could feel were waves of icy malice coming off his Adonis form and I struggled to form words.

"Look, everything's been packed lately…"

My protests helped little as he crossed over to the slightly open door-in a second of panic I trained my ears on the bedroom, but to my relief, no heartbeat sounded back at me. Mason had left-how? When? Coming to a snap-decision, I decided I'd find out later, from Mason-but for now, I couldn't let Damon see the sex mess that I'd left in his room, so I sprung to action.

In a sudden burst of chagrin and fright, I sped up so that I budged the eldest Salvatore, appearing in front of his door, which now lay open. Standing in the doorway, his eyes roamed under my arms, over my head, anywhere there was space to check his room-but with me in the way, it was near impossible.

Seeing as he wasn't going to get a glimpse of the room with me there, he dropped his attempts to look, turning his enraged features to meet mine. Reduced to glaring in my face, eyes sapphire death, he hissed out a distinct: "_Get out of my way, Valerie._"

The menace in his navy irises was enough for me to choke on my words-I hadn't seen him this mad…well, ever. Then again, I'd only know him…maybe two weeks?

It felt like a lifetime. I shook my head slowly, planting my feet on the ground-I didn't want him to kill Mason. I would protect Mason if I could….because I protect the ones I love. And Mason, quite possibly, was the only person in the whole world who felt anything kind towards me.

I couldn't let my only source of happiness wilt-and so I faced Damon, my eyes a resilient jade, gold flecks popping out in the few sunrays that made it to the shadowy hallway. "No, Damon-" I murmured, "don't go in. _Don't_."

The candle flames in his eyes leapt at the challenge- for one moment his form as still as a grave, as menacing as a Reaper's itself would be, before letting out softly: "I don't want to hurt you, Valerie." There was an awkward pause where I swear, if I had a heart, it would have been ripping full out of my ribcage. His eyes were intense, his lips strained into a line-for a few seconds, it was beautiful.

Because I had thought, for those few seconds, that I was going to die for the one I loved.

The emotion had a familiar pang to it, a taste that I would have spit out had it existed; as if it had been timed, a sharp, clear pain shot through my head-I shut my eyes in agony, and that is when he pushed me aside.

Shoulder blades slamming harshly into the wall opposite, I remained standing, resisting the urge to slide to the floor and hide as I opened my eyes and saw Damon taking in his room.

There was my phone, on the floor, where I had picked up my clothes-and lo and behold, scattered across the cotton sheets were a lacey violet bra, two ebony heels, and a white pair of briefs. How had they gotten there?

It didn't need explaining-that much was obvious enough. The whole place reeked of Mason, and me-not good. Damon stiffened-I crossed the room to him, ignoring the shake in my legs as I stepped in, cutting off the view of his dirtied bed.

The baleful look he gave me was enough to send me reeling-it was as if I was a piece of trash before him, a smashed cockroach. My face was the opposite-blank, eyes wide and pleading even though my body betrayed no such notion-I stood proud.

"Give me one reason not to kill him right now." He snarled-I winced, not breaking eye contact as I did so.

"Because he loves me-and he's probably the only person that does."

He smirked in my face, his eyes blue hell. "I've been in love, and it's not that great. You won't miss him."

My large, winter-rose lips opened to spew forth a denial. "That's not true, Damon-I believe love can happen again. I don't think it's over if the first time it came around…is bad."

Desperate to convey what unknown emotion I was feeling, I reached out and placed my palms flat-out against his chest, as if I was going to shove him away.

The thing was, I didn't shove him.

Our gazes lay intertwined, forever captured by the simmering heat that lay between his blue silk and my palms-between my skin and the muscles that lay underneath my fingers. The move was dangerous; I saw that now-but neither of us pulled away.

Until, of course, a wave of dizziness almost overtook me-I blinked it away, and that was enough for him to take a step back-I dropped my hands dumbly, refusing to let go of his gaze.

He gave me one last even stare-the flames in his gaze faded away to something more solid, more cold-and then he shook his head, breaking eye contact with me for a brief, bitter moment.

"Next time you feel _'busy'-" _ he mocked, "do it somewhere other than _my_ room."

Turning away from me, he grabbed his leather jacket, which lay past the giant, wall-sized mirror and reclined on the leather chair next to it.

As he walked away, my reflection-crazy crimson hair, shocked jade eyes, tight, too large mouth, scrunched too large nose-swiveled away and watched Damon's exit.

"Where are you going?"

He didn't answer-the noise of his steps eventually faded to nothing and I stood frozen, unsure of what to do-when my phone buzzed on the floor. In a flash of movement, I cradled the thing in my palm, Elena's message staring up at me.

_Me and Bonnie want to talk. Meet us at 9 after BBQ? _

I added all of my questions to the List of Questions unanswered so far, and then stored it away in my memory.

I was going to get some answers tonight-the ones that I deserved.


	17. Chapter 17

**Part 17-Possesion**

_possession-__The state of having, owning, or controlling something; visible power or control over something, as distinct from lawful ownership; holding or occupancy_.

I had jacked a navy blue motorcycle outside the Mystic Grill in order to make it to Elena's house.

With my vampire reflexes? It was as if I'd been driving for years. I tore up the road; hair whipping harshly against my cheeks, enjoying the way the wind felt-it was a chilling, sharp breeze that peeled at bone.

For some reason, this made it all the more enjoyable-yes, it was ripping at me, tearing me into pieces-my whole life was blowing away with that wind, peeling away to reveal the true me, underneath…

Or was this life even mine? The life I could recall being born in a family I hated, falling for Levi, Levi turning me, Levi returning…it all muddled into something less important. This was probably the first time I realized that my life…meant nothing.

I arrived after I saw Damon's car disappearing into the distance-faintly I caught the scent of Mason and my history teacher on the horizon-that was strange. Why they all had gathered at Elena's house this evening, I didn't know.

I had redressed myself-whereas earlier I had awoken in nothing but lingerie, I found myself clothed in a spaghetti strap deep, teal shirt-it was made of silk and had silver accents that brought out the green in my eyes. It cut in just the right place so that no cleavage was showing, so that I appeared mature. Straightening in my long, dark flare jeans and fresh silver heels, I bravely stomped up the sidewalk, hopped up the porch, and rapped on the door.

It smelled overwhelmingly of human; I was tempted to kick the door in and feast, for I hadn't eaten in what seemed like ages…who knows when I last ate anyway? But someone came to answer my call.

"Come back for more pie, Ma…" A tiny woman stood in front of me in the open doorway, tilting her head up so her large, warm, chestnut eyes could take me in.

She had dirty blonde hair, almost a dying shade of auburn, which waved and curled several inches past her shoulders.

Her figure was a very fine one-but the wise maturity, the mother instinct, in her gaze told me otherwise. To my astonishment, I realized my outfit had done little good-this woman was judging me.

"Who are you?" the woman murmured, nervously combing a strand of hair behind her ear. "I didn't think Jeremy was expecting friends this late …"

What the-who the hell was Jeremy?

Blinking, I realized how tight and cold my face must appear-forcing a worn, genuine smile on my face, I politely replied with: "Not for Jeremy, at least not today. I'm here to see Elen-"

Suddenly, Elena was behind the woman, her eyes rapidly skipping in between the short woman and me. "Jenna, this is Valerie. She's in my history just wanted to study real quick for the quiz."

I nodded softly, my eyes going back into the woman, Jenna's, fierce, still judgmental gaze-and then they softened.

"Well, any friend of Elena's is a friend of mine. Come in! Sorry, I just had a party and got a little tipsy…my nerves must be getting to me." I smiled at her face, which had dropped the ferocity and had turned…gentle. Raw honesty glimmered in her gaze, her smile-I couldn't help but grin back. "No problem." I told her-and then Elena's hand was on my wrist. I tripped past the doorway (as I was now invited in) and we then we headed up the stairs.

Ignoring the constant scents and sounds pulling at my attention, (including an especially delicious young male scent that covered the upper floor) I allowed Elena to drag me along until I was finally released into a warmly lit, smaller room. My eyes did one measured sweep of, taking in the white walls, the crammed closet, the dressing table covered in photos, and finally the worn teddy bear upon the floral print bed sheets-and then I walked over and plopped down on the bedspread, ignoring the glare from the bed's other occupant.

I addressed the glare quietly, muttering: "Hello, witch." While I got busy taking off my heels, which hurt, despite everything. The door shut-and then Elena crossed over the bed, sighing as she gracefully set herself down on the end of the bed before meeting my eyes.

"No one can hear us-now, where do you want to start? Me and Bonnie filling you in, or you telling us who you are and why you're in Mystic Falls?"

Agonizing shoes off, I felt safe enough to meet her eyes-the feeling of a spear slamming into my skull occurred as I caught sight of Elena at the end of the bed, peering into my face.

"You start." I grumbled-I could practically sense those exchanging glances at my wince, but all that happened was that Bonnie moved over so she could sit beside Elena-and then they began their story.

It was about 45 minutes later, with limited interruptions by me, that everything was explained. Alaric, my history teacher, was Isobel, Elena's undead mother's ex-husband, and he was also a vampire hunter, on Damon's good side, and was currently dating Elena's aunt Jenna, who was the woman who'd invited me in downstairs. There were also many other things they explained to me, but it was difficult to keep up-one of the things they told me was that Stefan and Damon suspected that Mason is not totally human.

I'd laughed aloud at that, bending over until my stomach burned and tears sprang to my eyes. Elena and Bonnie exchanged glances at my strangeness, yet again, and I gasped out that Mason was definitely human and that he couldn't be more so. Elena emphasized on how Stefan was sure he was a werewolf-I stopped laughing.

A meeting every month? Damon's _puppy_ joke? Really-how could I be so _dumb_?

"I don't care if he's a werewolf or if you guys don't know what the hell he is," I told her, honestly peering into each girl's solemn face. "He's the only one _there_ for me." I clarified stupidly, clasping my hands in my lap and nodding. "You guys don't even trust me. How am I supposed to…live without some support?" They'd nodded gently, Elena saying something along the lines that she understood, and then Bonnie demanding for my story.

I told them about Damon kidnapping me, how I could 'feel' again (albeit reluctantly and censoring the fact that Damon had caused my relapse), about Levi and everything that resulted of that, and finally, dating Mason and how I thought he was perfect.

When I was done, I glanced at them, having been staring at myself in the bureau mirror across from the bed during the duration of my speech so I wouldn't have to look at them. Bonnie, in her one of her usual Boho styled outfits, sat cross legged, whereas Elena sat on the edge of the bed, her feet dangling off….her almond shaped, brown eyes peered into my own-a slicing pain resounded through my head.

Bending over, head in my hands, I glanced up for half a second, prying my eyes open so that I could look over at Bonnie and offer her my wrist to hold onto-and then I wasn't in Kansas anymore.

_I was climbing up the last step of a staircase-right in front of me was a large window that overlooked a dreamy backwoods and front yard; moonlight bathed the scenery in eerie silver, splashing the hallway into which I was entering with its color. My steps were hurried-my heart was pounding, my chest rising and falling beneath the satin, high-necked nightgown I wore. The hemline breezed around my ankles, whispering, urging on my hurried footsteps. _

_I knew not where I was, but for that matter, I did not care. Something was happening, and I was frightened-I had to get to my room. Two doors down-there were only a few doors in the hallway, painted white. I took the last one. _

_I gripped the bronze knob of a handle; turning it as gently as I could-my heart fluttered in anxiety-I did not want to be heard. The door gasped, falling away gently on its hinges until I had a clear view of the room from the doorway. _

_As soon as the door was out of the way, I was pummeled with an awful sensation-it was like nothing I had experienced before. It was as if I was touching something...something dark, heavy, solid…in this room. It left the air muggy, my throat tight; struggling to breathe, my eyes ravaged the bedroom, searching for the source of my plight. What could be hurting me? _

_Heart racing, my eyes alit on the ochre four-poster that made up a good portion of the room. Gossamer curtains floated around the regal columns, as if a breeze was attempting to conceal what person slept there-I squinted, desperate to see who lay upon the white sheets. Were they the ones who were making it difficult to breathe?_

_It was only then that the unknown wind picked up the curtains, entangling them-they were snatched away, and a view presented itself. There, finally in front of me, was a small body, underneath the sheets…my gaze traveled up until I saw the pale face, the overly large lips, the crimson locks that splayed like blood spatters on the white sheets-it was __**I**__._

_There was another sensation, besides the darkness-it was faint, like a pulsating heart beat, but it had a soft, misty kind of air about it-I felt it when I looked upon __**me**__-but that wasn't me, was it?_

_My body was emanating that feeling…no, that woman in the bed was, and she wasn't me- she was Savannah Vielle. Letting out a hesitant sigh of relief, I wondered at why I hadn't noticed the differences at once._

_Her hair was longer-but if one looked close enough they could detect the neck of a nightgown, the exact one I was wearing, just at the base of her throat._

_So what were we? The same? No-unconsciously, I clutched at the high, itchy neck of the sleep-dress I wore, as if I was going to rip it in half. I don't want to be he-_

_A shadow at the foot of the bed moved so subtly; I would have credited my imagination had I naught investigated further. Leaving forward, not daring to cross the threshold and risk being smothered by the heavy, dank feeling, I finally made out who it was. _

_A lithe, elegant form sat up on the end of the divan, their feet dangling off the side as they watched the red-haired woman sleep. The stranger was a woman-that was made apparent by the subtle curves that could not be completely hidden by her silky, straight-backed nightgown. It was when I caught sight of the brown, tumbling curls that ended about mid-back, that everything came together; Katherine Pierce was at the foot of Savannah's bed, watching her sleep. _

_Her dark, piercing eyes fell away from Savannah's face down to her limp form dangerously, as a medical professional might peer upon a dead body- a cold, somewhat uncaring glance that left one wondering if the profession was even human._

_In this case, Katherine wasn't-she was studying her prey. _

_As if to confirm her inhumanity, in a slow, deliberate-like movement, Katherine turned her head sideways, to the right. _

_I lay frozen, in the hallway, eyes wide and heart slamming out a chaotic rhythm. A minute passed-and all Katherine did was stare and stare until I was sure inside myself I was screaming._

_Screaming for help, from anyone-because Katherine was going to kill me-__**her**__-she was going to snap __**her **__neck like a twig-and I knew it._

_I don't know how-but that midnight, pressing feeling on my windpipe-the way the air was thick, congested with something I could not explain…I knew that was Katherine. _

_I could only watch as Katherine finally stretched one olive-toned hand out, her fingers landing on Savannah's ankle, which lay exposed from underneath the sheets. Tracing the delicate tendons, she kept her eyes on Savannah's face-I caught the glint in Katherine's coal eyes as she smirked, whispering: "You have been difficult from the beginning, Savannah."_

_The darkness was growing, absorbing the room, sucking all the moonlight out my surroundings-I had to act, now-I couldn't let __**us **__die. I took a step forward-the floorboard creaked under my movements and I froze, my heart seizing in terror as I looked up._

_Katherine's head had whipped around, her chocolate curls tossed aside as she assessed the doorway with suspicion. Her hand still lay upon Savannah's ankle, but as soon as my gaze landed upon it, she retracted it. The heavy feeling was lightening-but it was being riddled through with something small, something grey and rough to the touch…_

_Katherine's dark, hardened brown eyes met mine-I dared not breathe-and then a corner of her mouth twitched up as she called out, in a dramatic, breathy tone:_

"_Damon? Is that you?" _

_My heart, Savannah's heart, __**our**__ heart-throbbed at the name-and then everything went black. _

My eyes snapped open, and with a wild breath of air, I found myself face to face with a pair of dark, brown eyes-in a second I blurred to the far corner of the room, a menacing growl finishing its exit from my lips.

Elena gaped at me, frozen over the bed from where I'd been seconds earlier. Bonnie was shaking her head, awakening, when Elena gasped: "Are you guys okay? You both passed out at the same time…"

She glanced at Bonnie's face-and then Bonnie finally broke down, her words spilling out fast towards her best friend, Elena, could probably catch up with.

"I think I know what's wrong with her, Elena-she's possessed! Just like Emily used me!"

I didn't recall having this piece of information on me, so I stood in the corner like an idiot, feeling more left out than ever. Elena, not taking her eyes off Bonnie's beige features, settled herself on the bed once more, whispering: "Why do you think that?"

"The visions, the life and appearance similarities, the mixed feelings-that's exactly how I was with the necklace, Elena!"

Elena nodded numbly, shaking her head slightly, as if she could not accept the facts. "Well, who then?"

Knowing an answer finally, I cleared my throat, before raising my voice and answering: "Savannah Vielle."

Elena raised her head, setting her dark eyes on me and I shivered at the remnants of the vision that still swirled around in my head. "She was one of Katherine and Emily's friends…she would have arrived in…" striding toward the bed again I plopped down on the corner farthest away from them, "April, 1864?"

"So you've been having a bunch of these visions?" Bonnie asked, turning towards me-I nodded, murmuring: "Not really. Just déjà vu and head pains. Lots of head pains."

"Wait-" Elena interrupted, her gaze skipping from between me and Bonnie, "how is Savannah related to Katherine?"

"Katherine brought her out of Maryland and to Mystic Falls. She healed her from some kind of sickness…and so Savannah feels like she owes Katherine somehow, even when she's crushing on Damon who's obviously-" I let out a bitter laugh at the irony, and Elena and Bonnie looked at each other for the millionth time, "Katherine's boy toy-even today. It's just sad."

"Wait-so Damon liked Savannah? And Savannah looks…exactly like you?" Elena murmured-my stomach dropped, nervousness snaking its icy way up my throat.

"Well, yeah, but that has nothing to do wi…" I suddenly recalled something-glancing at the two of them I exclaimed, "I didn't tell you that Savannah looks like me! How'd you know that?"

"That would be because of me." Bonnie offered, raising a hand before lowering it. "I had to tell her about what happened at the Grill earlier."

I grimaced before saying, "Damon hates me, you guys. So don't get any other ideas-Savannah liked him. But I hate him just as much as he hates me, maybe more-and he still has it for this Katherine chick-"

"And Elena." Bonnie chirped before rolling her eyes, "Sadly."

Deep inside myself, I felt a deep, clawing pain-I turned my face to Elena. Her perfect features-plump mouth, cute nose, super skinny body, tan skin, beautiful browns-lay across from me as I gaped.

"Really?" I finally coughed up-she exhaled loudly, turning honestly to both of us as she reassured:

"Damon has his own way of thinking of things. I'm with Stefan-he knows that. There's nothing between us."

Her face was honest, but in her eyes, something wavered-and then she dropped her gaze. I shook my head, smirking at _the pain_ of it. Denial looked good on such a pretty face-denial didn't look half as good on me as it did on her.

What the hell? Why was I thinking these things? Peeved at myself I decided to switch the subject, needing more answers.

"So you think I'm possessed? As in ghosts and things?" I addressed the question to Bonnie, seeing as I had trouble always looking at Elena.

"Emily's ghost took over me, so, yeah."

"Well…if you're possessed do you black out for days at a time?"

Bonnie frowned before replying with: "I used to black out, sort of. But it was more like I'd go places I didn't remember going to…but I was dreaming the whole time. Kind've like sleepwalking. Why?"

Surprised by the geniality of her answer I decided to not beat around the bush any longer.

"Well, I have no memory as of four days ago and earlier today."

Elena raised her eyebrows, her mouth opening in a perfect 'O' as she repeated: "You lost memory of four days?" She paused before saying: "That didn't happen to you, did it Bonnie…."

"No, not like that…"

"Yeah," I cut in, shrugging like I didn't give a shit. "I even missed having sex with Mason in Damon's room." I gloated-my jade eyes took in their facial expressions like a dying vampire sucking blood.

Bonnie's eyes had grown wide-she blinked at me, just as Elena was blinking at me.

"You what?" Bonnie whispered as Elena chimed in with, "Oh, God, Valerie…."

"Well then you see my point." I smirked, enjoying their attention as I sat up, bouncing lightly on the bedspread.

"What point?" Elena demanded, combing back a huge section of her brown hair in a tired, nervous gesture.

"Anyone who's smart would not do something like that unless they wanted to piss Damon off. And I mean, make him explode or something. I like to annoy him…but not that much."

They both stared at me-I grinned before concluding with, "So possession sounds like what's happening here…"

"Oh!" Elena suddenly gasped-she was staring at her phone, which had come out of nowhere, and rapidly texting someone back. "Valerie…I think you should get back to the Salvatore's…" she murmured, glancing at me.

I raised my eyebrows, giving her a long, sarcastic look. "Whyy?"

"Because I forgot that I have to study for that history quiz really badly-"

"Since when do you need to study?" Bonnie questioned, suspicion warring with annoyance in her tone; Elena ignored her, her thumbs flying.

Taking that as my strange hint to leave, I slid off the bed, crossed over to Elena's side nearest to the doorway, and put my shoes back on.

As I finally stood up, opening the door to her bedroom, unsure of whether to run out and abandon the Gilbert home or say goodbye, Elena called:

"Valerie! Wait!"

I paused, turning around to her reluctantly-her appearance still caused wells of dislike to pop up in me.

Brown eyes yearning, Elena began her lecture.

"Stefan says you shouldn't get mad at Damon when you get home-that Damon's in a very bad mood because of _the Council_ and-"

My stomach cramped, rage already coursing through my veins like a sick drug. "What did he do?"

Elena sighed, glancing at her phone screen before returning her eyes to mine.

"Valerie, this is to protect you. You _can't _piss Damon off, he _kills_ people-"

"What is it, El-"

Bonnie, who had crawled to Elena's side, had read the text as well, and had decided to join in.

"I would not do anything. Damon's dangerous, you know that."

Gritting my teeth, I breathed in, shutting my eyes-fury ticked away with my heart, pulsing like a haywire strobe light throughout my system. Letting out a hiss, my emerald eyes snapped open, the bedroom light playing at the shadows in my irises so I appeared even more threatening.

"I am dangerous too," I reminded them-and then I flipped several locks of my ruby hair over my shoulder-my signature bitch hair flip-as I looked down at them, sitting on the bed.

"Now I'm serious-what did he do, Elena?"

**~Hey, there! If you've read this and/or like this story, please leave a review saying so! I want to get a feel for how many people are actually reading this story. Love all who read -MsArtemis~**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18-The Beginning of the End**

_2 Days Ago-Thursday _

The night air was dank; the darkness of its color so penetrating that one would think it would sink into one's skin. Yet, despite the shadows that swallowed the tiny town of Mystic Falls completely, the stars were the clearest they had been in centuries. Piercing the smothering quilt of a sky, they glittered forlornly, hinting at a sure tragedy.

It happens that a boy, a visiting freshman in college, had commented on the sky's clarity earlier to his girlfriend of two years, over the phone. _"I'm heading to Mom's right now…did you know the stars here are so bright? I wonder what's with them tonight. Yes I know it's a country town, but still…they look brighter, I swear." _

But that was hours ago.

The boy's van tore down the abandoned road, delving into the night and unto its destination, unaware of its circumstances.

The platinum minivan was all but pure except for a solid mark against its left side door, marring the perfect family image. The boy had gotten it in an accident on campus a few days ago-he hoped his mother, upon arrival to her home, would not notice. The dent, ugly as it was, also shone off-silver, the tiny light shooting pinpricks of illumination into the depths of the evergreens passing it by.

Had it not been for this dent, the boy might have made it to his parents.

Inside the car, it was dead silent, the purr of the motor invisible as the boy hummed a random eighties song that was stuck in his head-and then, as he glanced up at the road, he swore loudly, slamming down on the brakes. Tires screaming out into the night, the stench of rubber heavy as the car came to a halt in the middle of the road, inches away from the source of his fright.

The headlights illuminated her ghostly pale, statuesque form, the crimson waves that blew in the wind-the blank, fathomless emerald eyes that stared straight forward, as a person frozen in a block of ice would. Her legs, although contained in a tiny black skirt, were spread far apart, as if she was awaiting impact. The ghastly idea made the boy cringe, his curls shivering with the movement.

For a moment, he could not move. What could he, in his Kiss t-shirt and blue pj pants-do for this woman? As the seconds wore on, and she did not even blink, he finally made up his mind.

Rolling the window down, he stuck his head out, straightening his brown-rimmed glasses nervously as he spoke up. "Are you okay, uh, Miss?"

Only the woman's hair stirred in response-the boy stuck his head out farther, his brown eyes catching how low-cut her lavender top was. Blinking in slight embarrassment, he focused on her blank face, as eerie as it was, and repeated himself.

For a second, there was nothing-and then her head whipped around, her icy green eyes boring into his face.

Stunned by her actions as well as her beauty, he gaped-and then her large pink lips moved to release a cold, frigid hiss.

"You will suffice."

His eyes narrowed as he muttered, "Whaa-" but it was too late.

With a blurring of hands and feet, she grabbed him, pulling him roughly out the half-open window-his leg snapped as he was dragged out to face her.

As he wept in agony she lifted him up by his neck and brought him to eye-level, ignoring his hands clawing at her clothes, his feet hovering off the gravel, and the wet cheeks that lay smashed between her palms.

Staring at the specimen before her, she winced, her eyes traveling up until they landed on his curls. With a rush of air she sighed, the ice in her eyes melting away into some semblance of life, some semblance of pain, _humanity_. Bringing him to her, she buried her nose into his hair, her eyes slipping closed with something bittersweet….and then she pulled away.

"I apologize greatly-"she whispered-his eyes, pressed together as they were, grew wider in apparent fear at her words.

Shaking her head, a sob wrenching its way out of her scrumptious lips, she twisted her hands, which gripped his windpipe, in a blurred clockwise turn.

There was a loud, audible snap-and then nothing.

Sinking to the ground, she drug the now-still boy until he cradled in her arms, her fingers unconsciously running to his curls and stroking them.

"I had to," she cried, her eyes locked on his empty, open gaze. "I cannot let my memory die."

Tears pouring down her face, the woman lifted the now dead boy's throat to her lips-the skin around her eyes crinkled like paper as her canines grew, as midnight black eclipsed the emerald in her eyes.

"I apologize." She whispered, her voice shaking, breaking under the weight of her obvious sorrow-and then she lunged at his jugular.

Hours after this incident, a certain Damon Salvatore was enjoying a drink in his family library.

He was pondering over a text of Stefen's that he had received a few minutes ago where Stefen had claimed Mason _was_ a werewolf. Snickering over this, Damon had poured himself a glass of bourbon, leaning against the fireplace in luxurious celebration, when lo and behold, the sound of high heels rang throughout the house. Sipping at the strong drink, he'd turned around to face the entry door and had waited-and then Valerie had appeared.

"Late night with your bo-"

He was cut off as his icy eyes flickered up and down her tall form; his natural smirk fell away into a confused grimace as he noticed her outfit. Scratched, black stiletto heels, legs that went on for miles in ripped lacey fishnet, a blood-spattered ebony scrap of spandex and satin that looked more like a loincloth than a skirt, and a torn lilac ribbed corset that plunged to show off her rising and falling assets.

Damon, although disgusted and confused by the state she was in, coolly swiveled around and poured Valerie a drink.

"Midnight Snack run?"

He was putting the jar of bourbon down when he was suddenly aware that she had crept up on him, her breath snaking down the neck of his black buttoned shirt. He froze at the heat of it, slowly placing her full glass down on the table before him.

"My bubble has been _breached_." He murmured sarcastically-there was no response for a moment, and then she placed her hands flat-out on his back. Her slim, betraying fingers slid seductively down the length of his spine; she giggled as his body turned to stone underneath her touch.

In a millisecond, he had placed the glass down and flipped around, one of his hands snatching both of his wrists. Wild, crimson hair shimmered in the firelight, green eyes, once so blank and zombie-like, bordered on insane laughter-for once, Damon was struck dumb by this strange display.

Silent, blue eyes blazing and mouth set in a grimace that bared his pure teeth, he remained as she cackled out, "Oh, _Damon_."

The way she sighed his name, a bare breath of a word, sent a jolt through him that had her hands thrust away from his. There was a pause where she smiled and he eyed her up and down, his mouth shutting, lips thinning in sudden resolve. Turning away from her he temporarily hid his face-by the time he turned back, offering her a full glass, his demeanor had cooled.

"Mason just not doing it for you? You deciding to hit on someone more, let's say, less of a _dog_?"

Quirking an eyebrow, jade eyes locked with his, Valerie, whose arms had been behind her back, stretched out and accepted his glass reluctantly, choosing to keep that hand by her side instead of taking a sip.

As the moment stretched on, and she did not reply to his pun, but instead stared at him with strange and new adoration, Damon decided to make the first move.

Taking a sip out of his glass, he found his gaze sliding down her ravaged frame before meeting her eyes.

"I didn't think you were going out with Levi on the loose."

There was a pause-then her voice rang throughout the library. "I don't care about him."

Damon's eyebrows rose at her high, cold, girly tone of voice, but he shrugged, taking another drink before lowering his glass.

"Not my problem…but if I were you, I'd stay indoors. Wouldn't want anymore pissed off vampires on our hands. That would make Stefan even _broodier_." Another length of silence followed his words, so he finished off his glass, placing the empty vessel on the table behind him-and then she spoke.

"Or make you broody. Broody because Katherine doesn't like you."

He frowned at her, leaning back and crossing his arms. How did she know anything about him and Katherine? She did not, she could not know anything, and it angered him to think otherwise.

"You lie about knowing her and then you assume that she hates me? Give up the act, Val. Just _admit_ you _know_ her. "

There was a brief pause as Valerie eyed his terse form up and down before she cracked a grin, stalking closer to him-he did not shy away.

"She likes Stefan more. Always has-"

Perceptible pain shot through Damon's gaze, his mouth growing tight with anger, but he still did not move away from her approach.

He should have.

"But you knew that." She murmured, taking one-step nearer, the click of her heels a rebound of thunder in an otherwise deathly silent house. The fire laughed at their misfortune.

"You know everything, _Damon_" she breathed, her chest rising and falling faster with excitement. Damon blinked fast at her tone, his hands clenching-the words were causing a God-awful pain in his head, so clear it could have been a pin slicing through his skull…

Disoriented as he was, he hardly noticed when Valerie came ever closer, now only a few inches away from him, her eyes shining with something he could not identify.

"You remember _me_, Damon. You remember _us_."

Barely able to keep his eyes open, hands moving to grip his skull in frustration and agony, Damon hissed, "_What the hell are you doing?" _

There was another pause as Damon struggled-and then, the pain faded away.

Opening his eyes wider, Damon finally focused on her face-the soft smile, the long-lashed eyes, the large mouth and nose that made up who she was…the golden innocence that radiated, that was _not_ Valerie.

"Don't hide from me," She whispered, her eyes tender. "I need you to recall me on your own, only you can do it, Damon."

Blinking at the strange sight of such geniality, Damon retorted with, "Are you crazy, Val?" Shoving himself to his feet, he pressed past her, heading to the bookshelf behind her in order to do what he should be doing-research on werewolves.

He did not catch that he had uttered the dreaded 'Val', and for some reason, she had not noticed either.

Bewildered, she flipped around in order to see him, her jaw hanging. "I am no-"

"Save it," Damon snapped, pulling out a book to check its spine before shoving it back amongst its brothers, "You've obviously hit too much of the good stuff tonight, and-"

"_Damon."_ The word was so feathery light, and yet, it caused agony to erupt through Damon's cranium.

Closing his eyes in bitter disbelief, Damon pivoted to face her. "Stop doing that voice thingy, Val. "

As the unpleasant sensation continued, he added, "It _hurts_."

"I'm not doing anything, Damon, you're just remembering. Remember-"

Eyes flickering open with barely containable confusion and growing rage, Damon only had seconds-one minute Valerie was pitiably insane, and the next she was in front of him.

One minute she was acting crazy and the next she was facing him, vulnerable, large moss-green eyes shining, waves the color of blood dangling in front of her flawless face. _"This." _She gasped-and then she leant forward and pressed her mouth to his.

Her lips were velvet, pressing against his invitingly; closing his eyes, he breathed in her scent-and then he was done for. Reaching out, he grabbed her hips, pulling her to him as her hands landed on his chest, as he enraptured her mouth with his own. Licking her lower lip, he had no qualms as she allowed him entrance, as he thrust his tongue into her mouth and she gave a sigh at the taste of him.

Without another word, he flipped her fragile body around and slammed her against the nearest bookcase, leather-bound covers raining around them as her hands slid hopelessly down his chest, as she pulled away for one moment and took his lower lip between her teeth and bit down-and that's when Damon froze.

His eyes grew glassy, his eyebrows furrowed-his hands dropped as Valerie slowly backed away from him.

Her job was done; he was most certainly remembering them now.

"Mr. Salvatore." She chirped-and then, in a rush of air, she ran off, leaving Damon, confused and haunted, in her wake.

The fire cackled, its fumes sweeping up his last breathless whisper, a whisper he himself would never remember saying.

"_Savannah."_ Damon breathed.

_**~Sorry everyone for the longgg wait! Here's a Chapter ;D Thanks so much for the encouragement! I'm not giving up on this story yet :) Tell me what you think if you have time to, please!-MsArtemis~**_


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